Page 34 - EngineerIt April 2021

NEW PRODUCTS

Monitoring for OEM control cabinets

urck is expanding its series of cabinet and IT world, and enables users to analyse
Tguards with the addition of the IM18- the data material from the factory level
CCM. The integrated sensors of the narrow, directly from their office desks. The Linux
18 mm device monitor temperature, air platform of the IM18-CCM also allows
humidity and door distance, in order to send installation of any customised condition-
this information via Ethernet to higher-level monitoring software. In this way, measured
IT systems. External devices such as vibration values can be pre-processed and prepared
sensors for monitoring states can also be on the device for the specific requirements
integrated via Modbus RTU and CAN. of the application.
The IM18-CCM is particularly suitable The IM18-CCM is the third model in Turck’s
for OEMs wishing to provide basic condition cabinet guard series. The two 12mm devices
monitoring values in their IT systems. It IM12-CCM and IMX12-CCM come with onboard
detects critical states of the control cabinet condition monitoring software for monitoring
directly in the field. Creeping changes or limit states and long term data series. n
systemic problems can also be detected
through long-term evaluations. The IM18- For more information email
CCM thus bridges the gap between the OT brandon.topham@turckbanner.co.za

Facial recognition on the rise as businesses go touchless

emand for facial recognition access control systems is booming as South African businesses licensing. Cloud-based access control brings
Dscramble to provide touchless technology and eliminate touch surfaces that can spread Covid-19. secure access within the reach of most
In many cases, these systems are combined with thermal screening technologies that enable businesses by offering a subscription-based
temperature measurement, while also providing a fully auditable logbook of every person who enters model, with the software hosted in the cloud
and leaves a building, says Neal Harvey, a security solutions consultant at Itec SA. and managed by a third-party provider.
“There’s been a clear increase in demand for touchless access control solutions since the “Cloud is the future of access control,
pandemic hit. Key card access control systems and even fingerprint readers are quickly becoming and we’re going to see this model
obsolete: cards get lost or misplaced, and nobody wants to touch a biometric reader in a time of becoming standard practice in the coming
Covid,” said Harvey. years. Businesses don’t need to hire IT
Facial recognition as a biometric identification solution has matured over the past few years, people to manage the system anymore
making it an affordable alternative to traditional card and fingerprint readers. It has the added or worry about scheduling updates and
benefit of being contactless, and cannot be lost or passed on, making it more secure than some maintenance. They also get the flexibility
legacy access control systems. This advancement in technology has also made visitor management of being able to grant or modify access
more secure, with the ability to do visitor registrations online instead of visitors having to fill out credentials from a single database that is
paper-based forms. remotely accessible,” said Harvey.
Another game-changer for local businesses is the adoption of cloud-based access systems. There has also been a rise in multi-
Traditional access control systems are expensive, requiring servers, wiring and annual software factor authentication, which requires the
use of more than one credential to gain
access. Once reserved for high-security
and critical infrastructure facilities,
companies are starting to explore various
combinations of authentication, like
combining facial recognition with mobile
credentials, for example.
“The bottom line is that no two companies’
requirements are the same. They’re all looking
for flexibility, safety, and convenience, and
technology that prioritises user health and
wellness across the physical and digital spaces.
Facial recognition by itself is still a relatively
small part of the broader security market, but
as the technology that enables it becomes
cheaper and more accessible, it will become
an integral part of most businesses’ security
arsenal,” said Harvey. n

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