Visiting a company’s booth on an exhibit hall floor is often informative, but it is not alway funny or entertaining. But when the tour is led by two of the security industry’s social media leaders, it can be both. In this video from ISC West, Phil Coppola, HID’s Mobile Evangelist, tours the Assa Abloy booth with Benji Bolick, Assa’s Senior Digital Communications Specialist.

Both guys have large social media followings thanks in part to their knowledge of the security industry, but also to their delivery of technical information in an engaging style.

Wifi locks wake up periodically to send aggregated info to the central system. Wireless locks, on the other hand, communicate back and forth in realtime via an over-the-air connection to a nearby wired hub.

The tour takes you from station to station, demo-ing readers for a variety of interior and exterior doors, lockers, cabinets, padlocks and other unique use cases.

They explain different lock technology options including power of ethernet (PoE), wifi locks, and wireless locks that do not use wifi.

It is a good primer of the benefits and limitations of each technology. As you will see, there is a time and place for each technology, and most campuses are best served by a mix.

In one segment, there is an interesting discussion about the differences between wifi and wireless locks and the manner in which each communicate back to the central security system.

Wifi locks wake up periodically to send aggregated access information and receive updates and card revocation details to the central system. Wireless locks, on the other hand, communicate back and forth in realtime via an over-the-air connection to a nearby wired hub.

As they educate the viewer about the different technology options, they discuss and demonstrate Assa Abloy and HID readers that fill each category.

A solid overview of the technical architecture of the Aperio lock line, commonly used on college and university campuses, is presented.

It details how multiple wireless locks – typically eight to 16 individual units – talk to a local hub located within a range of roughly 100 feet. The hub is wired back to a panel and the central security system, enabling realtime communication and even centrally-initiated lockdowns.

Though booth tour videos often lean toward the boring realm, this one is really worth the time. It provides great information and will even make you smile.

For campus-specific inquiries, you can reach out to Tyler Webb, Assa Abloy's Director of Electronic Access Control Sales for the campus market, at [email protected].

Check out the video by clicking the image at the top of this page.