The intercom has come a long way from announcing the day’s school cafeteria menu or an executive office visitor. While still important communications tools, today’s intercoms add network-based video as a vital security layer.
You’ll see them protecting commercial and government facility entries, multi-tenant buildings, schools, sensitive interior spaces, and more. Users can see and have two-way conversations with visitors before allowing them access through a door or gate. Video intercoms are the brains of emergency towers and wall-mount boxes that enable a distressed person to gain the immediate attention of security personnel.
The first Aiphone audio-only intercoms were introduced to the U.S. in 1970. They were followed in the mid-1980s by black-and-white audio/video intercom entry systems. Color camera systems, introduced a little more than a decade later, were a hit with security professionals who also appreciated the simple two-wire installation.
This century, Aiphone joined the network explosion with new designs employing Cat-5e and Cat-6 cable. Today’s network-based intercoms, such as the Aiphone IX Series 2, communicate with other stations on the network – and these can be virtually anywhere. Multiple stations scattered around the world can be monitored and controlled from a single security operations center. The stations can also call an outside phone number, often eliminating the need and expense of standard phone lines. Additionally, two-way video for enhancing conference calls and streaming training sessions is also possible.
With the Aiphone GT Series, integrators can update directories for multi-tenant building intercoms via the network or onsite using an NFC-equipped smartphone. Like the IX Series, the GT Series allows communication between multiple buildings over the same logical network. From a single location, one person can screen visitors and answer tenant calls throughout an entire campus or residential complex.
The evolution of intercoms is nowhere near complete. In the not-too-distant future, video intercoms will be integrated with facial recognition software. Employees will walk through entries without the need of an access control reader or a plastic badge. One certainty is that the future brings unending change. One thing that won’t change is our dedication to quality. Aiphone is a two-time winner of the Deming Prize, one of the world’s highest awards for successful implementation of total quality management programs.
As we near our 50th anniversary in North America, intercoms will continue to play an important role in many settings. They are ideal for communication in areas where privacy may be an issue such as in the healthcare industry. And they’ll likely remain in schools – after all, students still need to know what’s for lunch.
