by Brianna Crandall — October 20, 2014—The winners of this year’s Detektor International Award were presented with their uniquely designed trophies during the just-finished Skydd security show in Stockholm, Sweden. The Detektor International Award, now in its 15th year, was introduced to reward manufacturers for outstanding commitment to technological innovation and their valuable contribution to the continual advancement of the security industry.
The award is an independent prize, with nominations selected by the editorial board of the security trade magazine Detektor. The jury consists of eight members from three continents: Europe, Asia and America. This independence helps make the awards some of the most prestigious awards in the global security market, says Detektor.
The criteria for a product to be nominated for a Detektor International Award encompass not only the technical solution but also the ease of use, the cost, and the overall presentation of the product. The three product categories for the awards are Access Control, Alarm and Detection, and CCTV (closed-circuit television).
The Detektor International Award 2014 winners are:
Access Control
- Best Access Control Product: Axis Communications from Sweden for the network door controller, the Axis 1001, considered the first non-proprietary open IP-based access controller on the market
- Highly Commended: Milestone Systems from Denmark for the Milestone Xprotect Access Control Module, which aims to unite access control and video in this innovative purpose-designed integration interface allowing for global third part interoperability
- Innovative Achievement: 1/ Zwipe from Norway for the contactless smartcard with on-card fingerprint enrollment and authentication, Zwipe Access; and 2/ Assa Abloy from Sweden for the wireless access control product, the Aperio Premium Escutcheon
Alarm & Detection
- Best Alarm Product: Xtralis from Ireland for the aspirating smoke detection solution, VESDA Laser Quantum, designed to enable a highly affordable solution for very early fire warning, even in compact areas
- Highly Commended: FLIR Systems from the USA for the thermal camera FC Series R, with intelligent on-board analytics and impressive temperature gauging for excellent yet affordable perimeter protection
- Innovative Achievement Award: 1/ DSC, part of Tyco Fire & Security, from Canada for the hybrid intrusion alarm system, PowerSeries Neo; and 2/ RCO Security from Sweden for the alarm control panel with touch screen, R-Touch 50
CCTV
- Best CCTV Product: Arecont Vision from the USA for the Panoramic 360 degree network camera, the Arecont AV12366DN
- Highly Commended: Axis Communications from Sweden for the network camera with WDR, the Axis Q1615, a powerful WDR Forensic Capture concept designed to capture minute details with exceptional clarity irrespective of the lighting conditions
- Innovative Achievement: 1/ Bosch Security Systems from Germany for the IT infrastructure solution for video surveillance services, the Bosch Security Cloud Service; and 2/ Samsung Techwin from Korea for the 32x 2 megapixel pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) indoor camera, the Samsung SNP-6320 Dome
The judges noted that an interesting aspect of this year’s prizes was that many of the nominated manufacturers were listed in the “wrong category;” for example, Axis and Milestone would usually be categorized as CCTV finalists, but this time they were nominated in the Access Control section. The judges concluded that the different product categories must be getting closer to each other each year. They also noted that the industry seems to be slowly migrating towards open technology, even in the access control field.
