The fast pace and changing face of the security industry means that each year it becomes more difficult to select new nominations as so many new products and ideas are launched into the security arena. It also becomes more difficult to compare products and services in each category as they become more technologically advanced and diversified in their design and usage. However, in amongst all of this activity there is a small niche of particularly eye catching and innovative new designs - and these are the products that earn the privilege of becoming short listed as finalists for the Detektor International Awards .

The Detektor International Awards aim to highlight and reward only those that display the most genuine innovation. In order to highlight the prestige of these awards in terms of innovation and design Detektor magazine has especially commissioned a renowned Swedish artist to create a set of unique glass sculptures, which will be awarded to the overall winners in November 2016 at the security industry presentation ceremony in Copenhagen, Denmark.

It is the 17th year for this independent event, and the Detektor International Awards panel of judges have scrutinised the security industry once again and finally whittled down the potential contenders to this shortlist of 12 candidates – four finalists in each category. This year is particularly interesting as many of the products not only offer technological innovation and advancements in their field, but many of them also offer solutions for applications in previously untapped markets or brand new markets, which opens up the security industry to a whole new target audience.

The finalist nominations are as follows:

The CCTV Category Finalists

1. Appearance Search technology from Avigilon (Canada)

In Brief: A new video analytics technology that automatically analyses video data from multiple sources to quickly locate people.

2. The GV-PPTZ7300 H.264 WDR network camera from Geovision (Taiwan)

In Brief: The world's first panoramic IP speed dome.

3. SNC-VB770 from Sony ( Japan)

In Brief: 4K network camera with a full frame 35mm sensor offering the highest sensitivity in its class providing top performance in almost full darkness

4. The Axis Q6155-E PTZ dome network camera from Axis Communications (Sweden)

In Brief: The first IP surveillance network camera incorporating 100% safe pin point laser focus technology that measures the distance between the object and the camera in a fraction of a second

The Alarm and Detection Category Finalists

1. Aviotec IP Starlight 8000 from Bosch Security Systems (Germany)

In Brief: A new camera solution with video based fire detection combined with intelligent video analysis for reliable and early flame and smoke detection in new and challenging environments

2. The A2000 counter drone radar from SpotterRF (USA)

In Brief: Low cost compact surveillance radar for drone detection and defeat - able to detect small quadcopters at range of 1000 metres.

3. The FireXpert from Schneider Electric Fire & Security - Esmi (Finland)

In Brief: Interface providing online access to Esmi fire system management via mobile devices

4. AD 800AM from Alarmtech (Sweden)

In Brief: A 100% false alarm resistant acoustic glass break detector developed from the latest microcomputer technology with a number of advanced algorithms connected to the acoustics of the room.

The Access Control Category Finalists

1. iLOQ NFC minimum energy smart lock from iLOQ (Finland)

In Brief: The World’s first NFC powered lock - technology that enables power and operation of locks via a mobile phone

2. MOOV VMC Lite from Nedap Identification Systems (The Netherlands)

In Brief: The world’s first dedicated vehicle access control platform - specifically designed for vehicle entrances in cities and parking facilities.

3. Cliq Connect from Assa Abloy (Sweden)

In Brief: Cliq Connect brings a revolutionary mobile function and adds it to an existing DI award winning product.

4. BioEntry W2 from Suprema (Korea)

In Brief: The world’s fastest outdoor fingerprint access control device

That concludes the final nominations for the 2016 Detektor International awards. The winners will be announced and presented with their awards at the security industry banquet during the Sectech show in Copenhagen next month.