Globally Civilian Security Expenditures to Reach $518 Billion in 2015 says ITRI President

Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) President Dr. Johnsee Lee said that the world has seen frequent acts of terrorism since the 911 terrorist attacks in 2001, and the importance of security speaks for itself. Security and protection remain a basic requirement for nations and individuals despite the weak economic climate. Take the United States for instance, Dr. Lee said. The domestic security market there grew to $193.3 billion in 2005 from $59.3 billion in 2002. Of this, $67.4 billion was spent on surveillance and access control and $65.0 billion on bio anti-terrorism systems. Meanwhile, rapid growth is also being seen in information and network security systems. It is expected that global security expenditures (not including national defense) will soar to $518.0 billion by 2015.

Dr. Lee furthermore pointed out that Taiwan has long been a global hub for the production of surveillance equipment. To this point, most related items produced here have been on a contract manufacturing basis and are low added-value items. By integrating software and hardware, the industry will see a higher output value and added-value, he said. However, a high technology threshold exists in terms of producing integrated securities systems. Up to now, Taiwan has generally focused on the production of components, with small- and medium-sized firms responsible for the bulk of manufacturing. As a result, local firms have been unable to secure business for higher-end integrated systems.

It is with this background that ITRI and Telcordia are embarking on cooperation. It is hoped that Telcordia’s wealth of experience and technological expertise in the area of systems integration can be successfully combined with Taiwan’s competitive edge in IC/ICT product design and manufacturing, thereby jointly developing smart security systems. In the future, products will carry and be internationally distributed using the Telcordia brand name.

ITRI on March 4, 2009 signed a memorandum of cooperation with Telcordia Technologies, one of America’s foremost telecommunications R&D companies, to help pave the way to enhance Taiwan’s international competitiveness in this sector. In the future, the two sides will cooperate in the development of smart security systems, with a goal of grabbing a share of the global market for these systems.

ITRI’s Identification and Security Technology Center (ISTC) General Director-Tarng Jenn-Hwan said the cooperation between ITRI and Telcordia will focus primarily on the development of telecommunications and smart security and surveillance systems. ITRI hopes to take advantage of Telcordia’s wealth of experience and technology in communications, information and systems integration. Meanwhile, ITRI will introduce operation support systems, as well as scalable, reliable and secured system software technology. 

The joint initiative will foster a world-class security system development platform, which will provide the foundation to develop state-of-the-art and internationally competitive smart security systems. The platform will also prove useful in integrating “smart end points” developed by ISTC, which will aid in the development of state-of-the-art smart security and surveillance systems that are real-time and are able to act based on various scenarios. 

These “smart end points” offer the ability for the devices to independently judge potential emergency events and then to react accordingly. Camera imagery will be processed in an intelligent manner by the system, thereby avoiding the transfer of large amounts of unnecessary images to the end point. Surveillance personnel with then take the appropriate action. The system will effectively reduce the amount of manpower required to monitor the system, time, and costs associated with having to transmit and store large amounts of data.

ITRI selected Telcordia as its cooperative partner in the R&D of intelligent security systems with the hope of upgrading Taiwan’s security and surveillance industry from being a components manufacturer to a provider of smart end points and secondary systems. This will provide the foundation for the innovation of new products on Taiwan and result in new opportunities. In addition, Telcordia’s marketing channels will assist Taiwan manufacturers in gaining a foothold in the high-end securities systems marketplace, thereby creating a new Blue Ocean for the security industry.

Nanotechnology plays a growing role in developing products for security applications.

ITRI won a "2009 R&D 100 Award in Energy Devices" in November for developing STOBA (self-terminated oligomers with hyper-branched architecture), the first technology to enhance the safety of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries.  Dr. Alex Peng, senior research scientist and deputy general director at ITRI's Material and Chemical Research Laboratories (MCL) said that "During the past five years, the STOBA team worked diligently to develop this technology. They have truly earned this achievement."

Li-ion batteries, the power source for many consumer electronic devices, including cell phones, laptops, MP3 players, cameras, and hybrid and electric cars, are susceptible to overheating, which can cause fires and explosions. In the past, safety standards for Li-ion batteries could not be raised because there was no solution available.

To meet the growing demand for high-safety lithium batteries, ITRI successfully developed STOBA, which has fundamentally resolved the safety issue. By integrating a nano-grade high-molecular polymer, which forms a protective film, into the Li-ion battery, a locking effect is generated when the battery encounters excessive heat, external impact or piercing and interrupts the electrical and chemical action, preventing explosions. In 2008 and 2009, STOBA passed the mandatory shorting and piercing experiments conducted by battery manufacturers in Japan and Taiwan. These intensive nail penetration and impact tests confirmed STOBA's effectiveness in preventing internal shorting and overheating in Li-ion batteries.