DYNAMIC CHANGES COMING TO CARD READERS
says. “It is a lock that is also a reader. That enables people to have the flexibility to address their needs today and tomorrow. If they need prox today they can put that reader on it. If they need to upgrade their credential, they can change the reader on the door without changing the mechani- cal hardware as well and increase the overall life cycle of the product.” Edge devices, or combined reader/controllers are another reader configuration making waves. “Edge devices are a strong trend,” Adams says.
“We have the happy problem that our edge readers can hardly keep up with the demand because they are so easy to install they make a lot of sense. They are not perfect for every installation, but year after year they have been our highest growth-rate product.” ISONAS recently received a patent for its edge
device, which is a networked device designed to work using PoE (Power over Ethernet). “You don’t need specialized cables anymore, just
a CAT 5. Once you can do that, it makes it easier to get to any door,” Radicella says.
“One of our primary product areas is the trend
towards IP and integrated reader/controllers that allow customers to use their existing infrastruc- ture,” DeBettignies adds. “More and more new business is growing that way rather than the tradi- tional Wiegand reader.” In fact, some end users are starting to say ‘no
more’ to the Wiegand protocol, period. “Starting about a year ago we have been seeing big
The Bottom Line: IP/Intelligent Readers
SDM asked manufacturers which card reader technologies they thought would have the greatest impact on the security industry and why. Here’s what they had to say about IP/intelligent readers:
“ “
“
Readers are becoming intelligent system components, not just an entry device. Such readers are taking on not only door control functions but highly configurable, functional and significant capa- bilities.” — Walter Helms, vice president and CTO, Matrix Systems
Smarter readers that communicate with the controller (two-way communication) in a non-Wiegand manner can report their status as well as being able to receive firmware upgrades for new fea- tures.” —Dennis Geiszler, vice president of marketing and interna- tional sales, Keri Systems
Because a reader can plug directly into an ‘IP network’ it completely changes/simplifies the landscape starting with the site planning, physical installation all the way through to the configuration and main- tenance of the application.” — Michael Radicella, president, ISONAS
78 October 2010
integrators and OEMs come right out and say they have got to get away from Wiegand,” Adams says. Indeed, the way that readers communicate both with the cards and with the panels and network is one of the biggest advancements in the works. “Network-on-card is becoming a new catch
phrase,” Helms says. “Readers that use smart cards with all the information on the card essentially replace a panel, which is a major dynamic change to the overall structure.”
CONNECTIVITY & COMMUNICATION With all of this information being passed between card and reader, however, the need for higher security is paramount, says Dennis Geiszler, vice president of marketing and international sales, Keri Systems, San Jose, Calif.
“What we will see coming up is the advent of readers that have encryption between card and reader so that the data going back and forth cannot be ‘sniffed,’” he describes. Adams agrees. “Everyone knows about the
MIFARE hack and proximity is not secure to begin with, so now we are talking about doing things with cards and readers that were thought undoable before in a contactless manner. We are using cer- tificates and PKI to authenticate not only the card, but the identity that is contained on the card. That is a trend driven by the government that has been talked about for years, but now they are saying ‘this is where we need to go — now.’”
In addition to being more secure, the commu- nication between card and reader is becoming bi-directional, as well — opening the door for all kinds of possibilities. “We are seeing more and more high-speed, bi- directional communication, rather than the stan- dard Wiegand, which has been used for 30 years. There is a big push for that,” Adams adds. What this is doing, explains Tim McCarthy, product manager, Paxton Access, Orlando, Fla., is paving the way for increased functionality and communication at the reader level. “We now have the ability to customize readers with a customer’s own brand name, look, orienta- tion or message. Before, it was just a straight Wie- gand signal, but now we can actually interpret data and configure the reader to accept or deny data at the reader level.” Paxton has a reader line that can customize messages when a card is presented. “For example, if a reader happens to be at a conference room, the message could change depending on the time
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