Burglar alarm products are veterans in the security industry. The initial concept of security in people’s minds was theft prevention. In order to prevent theft, people have been installing anti-theft windows and doors since the earliest days. Later on, people gradually adopted technological defense methods such as installing burglar alarms or surveillance cameras.

With the update of technology, the earliest sound and light burglar alarm products have gradually faded out of people’s sight, replaced by more accurate and concealed burglar alarm products. Traditional burglar alarm products mainly transmit alarm signals through telephone lines and use sound and light to deter intruders to achieve their goals. But the new generation of technology will innovate in this regard, especially in the false alarms of burglar alarm products. At present, burglar alarm products have become increasingly mature, especially in recent years, with the popularity of the Internet and the continuous development of video surveillance, the technology of burglar alarm product has shown new development.

1 Realizing network alarm in large areas through networking

The transmission of alarm information is crucial in burglar alarm products. Most theft cases occur when there is no one present, and sound and light alarms often do not have the same effect.

Due to the continuous expansion of security prevention areas, complex construction wiring, scattered detector locations, and later adjustments and expansions, higher requirements have been put forward for the management style and system design architecture of burglar alarm systems. The network burglar alarm system includes the networking between the detectors and the alarm control panel, as well as the networking between the alarm control panels and the alarm receiving center (alarm receiver). In the actual construction deployment process, in order to achieve flexible distribution and wiring of detectors, traditional switch signal lines are still mostly used for transmission between detectors and alarm control panel. The networking between alarm control panels and alarm receiving center is the key to whether the system is stable and flexible for expansion.

At present, in the burglar alarm industry, the networking method between the alarm control panel and the alarm receiving center is mostly based on telephone lines (PSTN), or small burglar alarm systems are connected through dedicated buses for regional networking or perimeter defense. However, the telephone line networking method has high operating costs, slow networking speed, and easy blockage of alarm lines. In order to solve the problem of line blockage caused by multiple users simultaneously alarming, the alarm receiving center needs to be equipped with multiple alarm receivers and multiple PSTN lines. The dedicated bus networking method has lower operating costs and faster networking speed compared to PSTN, but the transmission distance is limited, the prevention area is small, the reliability of line laying is poor, and transmission is easily affected by interference.

With the expansion of alarm prevention areas, the monitoring range of the burglar alarm system has expanded. The alarm control panels scattered in various regional outlets must be effectively connected to the alarm receiving center, so that the security personnel of the alarm receiving center can have a clear understanding of the alarm status of all detectors in the alarm area. Traditional PSTN networking or bus networking methods cannot meet the changing needs of the current alarm industry. At present, because the Internet has been popularized in families, wireless network alarm is possible. The household wireless network alarm does not need to establish a private network, but can directly connect with the Internet. This can make the burglar alarm system more flexible, without wiring, and not afraid of problems such as wire damage.

It can be seen that networking will undoubtedly be its future development trend. Similarly, the integration of various security equipment of the user unit of burglar alarm products must use Internet communication. The arrival of networking will undoubtedly facilitate the integration of future security systems.

2 Platformization and integration to improve the accuracy of burglar alarm systems

The biggest problem of burglar alarm products now is false alarms. Sometimes, due to unexpected noises, accidental contact from pets, children, etc. can lead to false alarms. Over time, it becomes difficult to distinguish between false alarms and real alarms, and the cost of verifying alarms manually is too high. Therefore, alarm video verification technology has emerged. It is necessary to install a camera or integrate it with other cameras for video verification on the burglar alarm system.

At present, the video surveillance system, burglar alarm system, access system and other subsystems in the entire security system are independent of each other and operate independently, which cannot meet the needs of centralized management of the security system. To achieve centralized management and mutual linkage of the security system, and make the entire security system a unified system, users must combine the most important and related burglar alarm system and video surveillance system in the security system to achieve mutual linkage of the entire security system, making the entire security system an organic whole. Only in this way, the technical and management level of enterprise level security can be fully improved. Therefore, the alarm video verification technology, which combines the burglar alarm system with the video surveillance system, is unified.

On the other hand, most owners of small and medium-sized burglar alarm systems have not yet accepted the consumption concept of charging for alarm services, and the main service customers of the alarm receiving center are concentrated in key industry units such as banks, warehouses, cultural and museum institutions, and schools. Ordinary users can only manage and use the burglar alarm system on their own, while the complex settings of professional alarm control panels such as tamper, arming, disarming, delayed alarm, 24-hour defense zone, etc. are difficult to fully grasp, let alone quickly apply. By integrating with the video surveillance system, the difficulty of using the burglar alarm system can be simplified, and users can combine intuitive image observation with burglar alarms for security prevention. Therefore, the alarm video verification technology, which is the unified combination of burglar alarm system and video surveillance system, is imperative.

Alarm video verification, linked to the video monitoring platform through the alarm platform, that is, after the alarm platform generates an alarm situation, the platform promptly links to the video monitoring platform for image display and video recording. In fact, it sends the alarm information to the video platform. And then it implements the linkage function according to the predetermined configuration relationship: popping up real-time video images, video monitoring point recording, real-time video wall display, terminal display, visual intercom working, contingency plan display, pan tilt control, and so on.

At present, many central cities have built a large number of video surveillance systems, and some key areas have initially established video coverage around the clock and in all areas. In the completed video surveillance systems, most of them are invested and constructed by social units such as finance, schools, shopping malls, enterprises, and residential communities. The installation and use of a large number of video surveillance system equipment that can be controlled by owners greatly reduces the difficulty of video verification. And various monitoring devices and platforms such as IPC, DVR, video surveillance center, and video comprehensive management platform software have improved functions in linkage processing, which also simplifies the complexity of integrated management.

3 Platform construction is key

Multi system and multi platform integration has become a major direction for the development of security systems, forming a true era of large-scale security, achieving centralized management and mutual linkage. The integration and linkage of multiple platforms and systems require data sharing and timely information transmission between platforms. The integration between traditional burglar alarm systems and other security subsystems, especially video surveillance systems, mostly relies on hardware linkage. The linkage with video surveillance system mostly connects the alarm control panel to the alarm input interface of the video surveillance system equipment through hardware devices such as relay output modules. When the detector triggers an alarm, the alarm is triggered by hardware such as DVR, video matrix, and other video surveillance devices, which perform video linkage functions such as image switching, capture, and recording through pre-set methods.

In the era of hardware triggered linkage in the previous generation, it was difficult to achieve timely linkage and event review of alarm situations. Therefore, using alarm information as the information source and linking multiple security system platforms has become a key focus in security system integration. As a basic component of security systems, burglar alarm systems currently lack rich and powerful integrated platform support. Currently, manufacturers are aware of the importance of alarm platforms, but their software development capabilities are still insufficient. In system integration, it is crucial to address the real-time information processing between various subsystems. A comprehensive burglar alarm system can not only display real-time images and record videos through timely linkage with video surveillance equipment in relevant areas, but also link with the access system to lock relevant doors and prohibit passage, and the electronic map automatically displays the alarm situation. For key prevention units such as finance, museums, schools, and stations, the burglar alarm system can be promptly uploaded to the public security department or alarm receiving center to activate the alarm plan and control the accident scene in a timely manner. In order to achieve the perfect integration of burglar alarm system with video surveillance system, access system, intercom and other subsystems, it is necessary to trigger multiple security subsystems with alarm information as the information source.

4 The demand for intelligence is constantly increasing

As the most critical information source in security systems, the burglar alarm system is crucial in accurately and quickly responding to the alarm situation at the accident site. After realizing the networked and integrated burglar alarm system platform, emergency response plans for accidents can be implemented to quickly handle the scene. Due to the inability of alarm detectors to eliminate environmental interference, and with the development of intelligent video analysis technology, the demand for integrating intelligent video analysis into alarm detection front-end will also increase. Such as implementing facial recognition and iris recognition. Alarm intelligence is divided into front-end detection intelligent analysis, reducing false alarm rates, and improving the timeliness of alarm situations. For the alarm receiving center, intelligent contingency plan linkage is implemented, such as real-time display and recording of video surveillance equipment images in relevant areas through timely linkage of alarm situations. At the same time, the access system is linked to lock relevant doors, and the alarm information system is promptly uploaded to alarm receiving centers such as the public security department to activate the alarm contingency plan and control the accident scene in a timely manner.

5 Leveraging the development of smart homes

With the continuous promotion of strategic emerging industries, smart homes are gradually gaining popularity, and users’ demand for home burglar alarms is also constantly increasing. The most prominent manifestation is the concept of alarm control panels beginning to change. From a single alarm dialer to today’s intelligent control platform, it has more value-added service functions. At present, the alarm control panel adopts modular settings for user convenience in secondary development. When the product leaves the factory, manufacturers not only prepare the core components, but also reserve some interfaces. Most additional functions are achieved by adding different modules, such as network modules, GPRS modules, 3G modules, 4G modules, voice modules, home appliance control modules, etc.

In addition to integrating with smart homes, the alarm control panel also adds SMS and voice alarm functions, with the main purpose of improving system availability. Using SMS alarm method, the alarm signal can be received anywhere, and the communication time is very short and the speed is fast. After adding a voice system, voice communication can be conducted at any time through phone calls, and voice monitoring can also be used to more accurately grasp the situation at the alarm site. In addition, the alarm receiving center can also publish property management content and various notifications to the panel. More and more alarm control panels have information storage functions, becoming sub center controllers suitable for large network alarm receiving centers.

It can be seen that the gradual popularization of smart homes has brought about a change in market demand, promoting the development of the burglar alarm industry. Burglar alarm products with multiple modules and value-added services will be more competitive.

Although there is currently a lack of standards for smart homes, and each enterprise is doing on its own, standardization is definitely the future development trend. Burglar alarm is a part of smart homes, and the development of burglar alarm will inevitably promote the development of smart homes.

Overall, the development trend of burglar alarm products will strive for breakthroughs in product technology under the premise of digitization and integration. In the application market, we will move towards a more refined direction – launching different products for different markets. The target market has gradually expanded from large cities to second – and third tier cities, and even rural areas. At present, some well-known enterprises are focusing on burglar alarms and pursuing alarm integration, combining alarms with video surveillance, networked operations, and other applications to provide users with comprehensive security protection.