New advances in security present resources and conditions that improve the protection of places and people. In this case, wireless access control systems allow revenue to be authorized from a distant point.
by Ana María Restrepo
Distance is one of the greatest difficulties that arise when thinking about carrying out a communication from distant points through the use of cables, however thanks to developments in wireless and computing, today it is possible to reach a remote site without using any type of cable.
Wireless communication uses electromagnetic waves to propagate, so physical devices are only present in the transmitters and receivers of the signal such as antennas, computers, electronic agendas, cell phones, among others.
Although this is not a novel practice, since its beginnings date back to the eighties, it is a timely solution for the new developments that arise in the different security and information technologies, especially when you have the need to interconnect systems within open or very wide spaces in which you could not reach with cables.
Due to its advantages, wireless technology is being implemented in several security solutions such as alarms, RFID identification and access controls, and it is in this last type of system that we will focus on this opportunity.
New conceptions
Wireless access controls can work over WiFi or radio frequency Internet connections.
These systems allow, like any other, the entry of people to certain areas or restrict it as the case may be. Some rely on proximity cards, biometrics, keychains, smart cards, among others to authorize access. There are also those special ones for disabled people that allow the person to be located more than one meter away from the reader to allow their entry.
To talk about the trends in wireless and TCP/IP access controls, we invited Héctor Amavizca, regional sales director for Latin America and the Caribbean of Schlage Biometrics and Access Control, Ingersoll Rand, Fernando Loret de Mola, commercial director of Sistemas Integrales de Automatización, S.A. de C.V. (SIASA), Marcelo Sawaya Sakamoto, International Director of Dimep and Andrés Varela, Technical Support Engineer (RBCO/ST) from Bosch Security Systems.
Radio frequency-based wireless access control solutions transmit user information through an interface panel that captures the signal from the readers and processes it in a short time, usually less than a second. This type of system can have different coverages, some have 200 meters, but in case more range is required, signal repeater antennas can be integrated that can reach up to half a mile according to Héctor Amavizca.
"With this system, the cost of traditional wiring is avoided both in the part of the access or door, especially in stone buildings, metal design buildings, glass, historic buildings and access systems to vehicular parking lots, etc," he adds.
For his part, Fernando Loret de Mola states that these solutions also work through wireless Internet (WiFi) connections, although some brands use proprietary wireless communication protocols.
Access control systems should be easy to use and support use several times a day, as these systems are intended to ensure the entry of authorized persons, as well as minimize the likelihood of malicious individuals entering areas or environments prohibited for them.
There may be several systems that integrate wireless access controls, the most used are vehicular, since the reading point is usually placed in the accesses of the periphery of buildings, and therefore are more difficult to wire.
One for all
The identification and authorization of individuals can be done by different means, either biometrics, contact cards, contactless or smart. Amavizca comments that proximity readers are still the most used systems, which is because the costs of such readers are economical; however depending on the security in the building this can change to biometric systems.
It also exposes that companies can save three hours of time per year per employee by using biometric systems. "It is estimated that by 2011 access control and personnel control systems will become the most used systems by companies, approximately 80% of companies will use biometric systems."
It should be noted that depending on the safety of the building, it is considered what is the system that should be considered to be systematized or that determines the type of readers that are going to be installed.
Fernando believes that card systems are the most used with this type of controls, although the implementation of biometrics is increasing, especially in those solutions that use WiFi as a means of connection to the network.
In 2006 a good picture was presented for imports of smart and proximity cards according to the data provided by the specialized portal Datamyne. Imports of proximity cards and labels were close to 2 million dollars in November and smart ones exceeded US $ 18 million, with December being the month that registered the most growth.
In 2007 the smart card landscape changed, with imports close to $6 million in March and a much smaller movement in the rest of the year. On the other hand, imports of proximity cards and labels only reached US $0.9 million.
Distant points covered equally
As mentioned at the beginning, distance becomes one of the biggest drawbacks when it comes to protecting wide or secluded places. This aspect acquires a less unfavorable position when taking into account the implementation of wireless security systems, since they allow to cover a larger area or very distant places without the need to use cables.
Hector explains that standard wireless systems can have a range of 200 meters in a concrete building, which possibly varies in a building with steel walls. "More than a million frequencies can be incorporated into these systems which do not intersect with each other and this facilitates that communication is more viable as well as reach. Antennas or signal repeaters can be integrated that can reach up to more than half a mile."
However, the range of coverage may vary depending on the brand. There are equipment with communication technology of frequency 433.92 Mhz that reach distances of 70 meters. But there are others that can reach greater distances with WiFi networks.
Hand in hand with this issue is also the number of records that can support the systems, some accept 500 thousand, others from 5000 to one million transactions, but depends on the integration of the panel or controller.
Another aspect that is worth highlighting is the verification of the data of the users, which is carried out, in case it is by card, passing said card through the reader, it captures the identification number and takes it to the memory of the panel, where the information of the credential (of the user) in the database is located. "If the equipment is online, it is checked in the central access panels of the system. If it is not online, it can be done locally in the memory of the access terminal," says Loret de Mola.
High percentage of security
The reliability of wireless systems is the same as that of wired access control. There are 100% secure systems such as those that use fingerprint to validate the identity of the person in question.
The capture of user data is very secure, so much so that it is implemented in institutions where protection must be an imperative. Hector states that there are several installations of these solutions at universities in the United States such as the University of Mississippi, University at Albany, University of Vermont, Washington University in St. Louis, Biola University in California, as well as in the U.S. Navy and at airports.
Like all technologies, wireless access controls have advantages that make them useful and with some disadvantages that can interfere with their acquisition such as price.
Amavizca explains that the advantages are the scope and speed in communication, installation and friendly and fast programming, as well as the elimination of costs in the placement of cables, since an eight-hour installation with wiring, is reduced to 45 minutes with a wireless system.
Fernando agrees with these advantages and also ensures that not having to wire is important in historic buildings in which the client does not want the aesthetics of the same to be affected.
As a disadvantage both professionals agree that the cost of this equipment is higher compared to that of traditional systems, however an integrator must analyze this factor with the client in order to make the best recommendation and choice.
But not only identification systems are reliable, but also the means by which individuals' data travels to the central panel. If the transmission of da by radio frequency it is secure since each address is independent and the user's information has been previously assigned in the system database.
If the control works with WiFi, there is also good data security because sophisticated encryption algorithms are used, similar to those used between personal computers (laptop) and sites with WiFi coverage. "It is important to mention that this encryption must be implemented, since by default many systems do not have it," says Fernando.
How is Latin America?
As could be seen in the data recorded by Datamyne, the report of imports of proximity and smart cards has not been very constant, however the implementation of security technologies in Latin America has been gradually increasing.
The main places that use wireless controls are government facilities, businesses, universities, schools, and hospitals.
Even today the price factor influences decision-making in terms of security. Many entities, companies, or institutions install wired access controls because labor costs are generally low in the region; however, this tends to change, as Loret de Mola states, as wireless equipment continues to fall in price.
For Hector the future of wireless controls is encouraging, the training and information provided on these systems are making customers aware of them and as such realize that they will recover the investment in a short time.
TCP/I Controls
Another type of access controls that have been implemented are those that use the TCP/IP protocol to communicate.
These systems, according to Marcelo Sawaya Sakamoto, International Director of Dimep, work in real time, which means that each request for entry into an access device is sent to a server application, which by consulting the database will issue or not the access authorization (all that is done in milliseconds).
For his part, Andrés Varela, technical support engineer (RBCO/ST) of Bosch Security Systems, comments that some systems have a panel, which has within its internal architecture a web server to which it connects through any type of network and through which administration and management can be done on any computer.
This system works under the scheme of a master team to which several slaves located in different places or cities report. Each slave is autonomous and constantly reports events and the database to the master panel.
Varela explains that even if the master panel fails, the equipment that is on the periphery will not be out of operation.
For this type of access control, biometrics is used, which is the most used according to Marcelo, although this is always implemented with the support of a card identification technology. "Currently the systems have used Mifare UID + Biometria." However, these systems accept many types of identification.
It should be noted that when the network fails or a loss of connection to the server occurs, accesses are recorded locally and at the time the connection is restored, a verification of the databases is carried out with the central to update all events.
When installing systems under TCP/IP networks, the customer's need must be taken into account. Some solutions use the existing network in companies or small and medium-sized institutions, but when it comes to a high-flow solution it is best to condition a network for the system.
Today, Latin America welcomes the use of these systems. Andrés affirms that more or less for about two years people have been taking into account these solutions for security installations, a position that Sakamoto reaffirms when he says that in the countries of South and Central America IP equipment is very well accepted, since many take advantage of the networks of companies for implementation.
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