According to the market research institute ‘Markets and Markets’, the market for perimeter security components will grow from 62 billion euros in 2020 to 98 billion euros in 2026. According to the forecast, the average growth rate is 7.9 percent.
Perimeter security is one of the growth areas in the security industry. As the importance of security solutions that are already effective at the perimeter of premises is growing, the demand for such solutions is very high. However, this is not only about securing open spaces and property or site boundaries of critical infrastructures (CRITIS), such as prisons, airports, or data centres, but also increasingly about applications in the private sector, such as logistics operations, industrial sites, or construction sites.
Perimeter security is designed to prevent people or equipment from entering a property directly at the outer perimeter or to trigger an alarm in the event of an intrusion attempt.
This type of security solution is important for a wide range of businesses and institutions. Security concepts around perimeter security include threat detection through sensors, each with its own detection method. Some technologies have gained in importance in recent years or are part of the basic equipment of a solution. We would like to introduce these in the following.
1. lidar sensors send laser pulses into the environment and calculate the distance of an object based on the time it takes for the pulses to travel back. One of the advantages of this technology over video technology is that it is independent of light and weather conditions. Since lidar is not only used in the security industry but is also used in the automotive sector in particular, the prices for lidar solutions have dropped considerably in recent years. As a result, lidar has become interesting for outdoor operation and is now used in many applications.
2. fibre optic sensors transmit laser light pulses via fibre optics and measure the light reflections that occur along the fibre. A disturbance of the fibre, caused for example by touching the fence, changes the amount of light reflected from that point. From an expert’s point of view, fibre optics is a cost-effective solution for smaller sites with an above-average lifespan.
3. Wireless solutions and wireless communication between the sensor and the main system are becoming more and more important, especially for residential and small to medium sized commercial buildings.
4. Remote and monitoring functions are also in particularly high demand. Control via smartphone for remote control and monitoring is now state-of-the-art, especially from the private sector. This technology is also particularly important in-home automation.
5 Video surveillance is particularly important at present. It has now become a mandatory technology for perimeter security. Increasing remote surveillance is important, not least because of the continuing shortage of employees. In the perimeter area, there is automatically a greater need for visual verification to reduce costs and the number of false alarms.
Other sensors are valuable in determining who is entering or attempting to enter a property. Video allows service providers or operators to determine more clearly what the situation is from a distance.
To maximise the effectiveness of video surveillance and assessment, the video management system must be able to link the location of the alarm to a camera or PTZ pre-set. This allows operators to respond more quickly, requires less training, and the pre-programming allows for optimised video quality and memory settings. Site-specific deterrence measures are also quicker to implement this way.
Sensors in combination
Of course, each detection technology has its advantages and disadvantages. Using a combination of these technologies (sensor fusion) makes detection of security breaches more effective. Intelligent, integrated solutions require an interplay of the technologies presented here to maximise their strength. For example, sensor fusion can analyse real-time data together with historical, location, environmental and classified information before an alarm is triggered. This avoids false alarms.
