There is much that artificial intelligence can add to an organization’s physical security system. With features such as wrong way detection to determine if someone has snuck through an exit, to thermal imaging that can spot fires and simultaneously call emergency services, AI is offering a way to greatly enhance a system’s functionality for organization’s of all types and sizes.
“AI-enhanced security can be customized to protect any type of organization,” says Jeremiah Wagner, Branch Sales Manager at Blue Technologies. “Whatever is important to an organization — people, products, property, equipment — can be kept safe through these systems.”
Smart Business spoke with Wagner about AI-enhanced physical security systems and how they can improve security across a variety of organizations.
What are some key features of AI security systems?
AI security systems can enhance the capabilities of an organization’s current security staff, or in some cases can stand in for security personnel. AI-enhanced security can aid security personnel through the wide customization options organizations can set up. For instance, if the AI is programmed to monitor for people slipping in through a door that’s designated as an exit, it can alert security personnel with a notification the moment that happens, and personnel can respond faster.
The thermal imaging feature can be valuable to any organization that works with or stores combustibles. The AI security cameras can use thermal imaging to detect a fire that’s as small as the flame from a lighter. Once detected, the AI system can immediately alert the fire department.
For manufacturers, these systems can monitor the heat produced by equipment on the shop floor. If the heat approaches a temperature that could result in damage to the equipment, the system can be programmed to automatically shut off the equipment that’s causing the unsafe rise in temperature before damage occurs.
Schools are an excellent place to utilize AI security systems. In Ohio, there are state funds that are available to schools to leverage so they can take advantage of these systems for a lower cost. AI security can help prevent bad actors from entering the buildings because they can detect when a door that’s not supposed to be open during school hours is open. With the use of wrong-way detection on AI-backed cameras, if someone enters a door that is specifically exit only or an emergency exit, the system can alert security or whoever is designated to receive such alerts so that they can quickly have the door secured to prevent unauthorized access.
What’s involved in installation?
For an organization’s end users, the installation and ramp-up of these AI systems are easy and seamless. Most of the attention during this process is in ironing out the standard operating procedures that determine how an organization wants the system to function.
Physical installation of the cameras involves connecting them to the organization’s existing fiber. These systems can also run on broadband and even connect through Wi-Fi — the latter could be used, for instance, for monitoring a parking lot or a remote location where fiber can’t be easily or affordably run.
In most cases, the installation upgrades to existing infrastructure is not a major expense. Often, the AI system can plug-and-play into an existing security system. And those organizations that want to completely update their existing systems can upgrade hardware, such as cameras, with newer, AI-enhanced equipment. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a complete hardware overhaul in every installation, something that can be meaningful when finances are being watched closely.
Increasingly, AI-driven security systems are becoming viable options for organizations of all types and sizes to help them improve the safety of their people and their facilities. These systems can be a small investment for organizations that result in greatly enhanced protections.
