Air Tech Italy welcomes its newest Member, CIAS, a leader in the field of research, development and manufacturing of security equipment and perimeter protection systems. We spoke to Fabrizio Leonardi (on the left of the picture), the Executive Vice Managing Director of CIAS who manages the company together with Raffaele De Astis (on the right of the picture) to find out more about a company that has been expanding rapidly on a global scale.
Can you introduce yourself and your company?
My name is Fabrizio Leonardi and I’m the Executive Vice Managing Director of CIAS. Together with Raffaele De Astis. In the late 90’s we took over the management of the company founded by our fathers in 1974, and we are proudly re-enforcing the brand as a showcase of Made in Italy in the security market, turning CIAS into a solid international brand. We are expert manufacturer of Perimeter Security Systems both for intrusion detection and ground traffic control: Microwave barriers, immune to Radio Frequency Interference, short range FSK radars, MEMS fence-detection systems and a turnkey mobile System for defence of temporary aircraft parking. Our solutions are all IP&PoE ready and cybersecurity compliant.
Can you tell us a bit more about your core business? How do you make a difference with your products?
Fabrizio: “As an industry leader in perimeter and outdoor security worldwide, CIAS has a strong Research & Development department delivering high quality solutions against potential threats. Over the past 50 years, we have been protecting critical infrastructures throughout the world like airports, prisons, utility sub-stations, nuclear plants and military bases.
The company’s microwave barriers, radar and fence detection systems are able to work in all weather conditions: heavy rain, strong wind, snow, etc. with operational temperatures encompassing from – 40°C to +70°C . But their most distinguishing feature is the unique Fuzzy Logic analysis which discriminates between real intrusions and false alarms, thus delivering exceptional reliability and detection performance.”
Why is the airport market so important to you? Can you share some recent successes?
Fabrizio: “Many International airports are already equipped with CIAS mW barriers and MEMS fence technologies, both for perimeter security to prevent unwanted intrusions, and for safety purposes to support ground traffic control.
Some of our main references in terms of security applications:, we protect major airports in Italy – like Fiumicino, Malpensa and Linate- and in other EU countries – like Romania, Poland, The Netherlands -, and more recently Marrakech Airport in Morocco and Changi Airport in Singapore. We also have many undisclosable references in military airports which cannot be mentioned for security reasons.
As far as safety applications are concerned, our special Ermo-Air barriers are operating in support of ground radars to prevent runway incursions in Rome, in Manchester Airport, all Portuguese airports- Lisbon, Oporto, Faro-, Maputo Airport in Mozambique and Luanda Airport in Angola.
As a company committed to the highest human values, we are proud to provide a real life-saving system to avoid the risk of catastrophic accidents occurring not only to passengers and crew, but also to the people on the ground, which are reported to be very frequent according to the aviation industry reports – in the USA alone, in 2022 the FAA reported 1,732 runway incursions, i.e. one every day: a quite “unacceptable” rate of risk!”
Can you say anything about the trends in your industry? What will drive demand for your solutions in the future?
Fabrizio: “Every day more and more cameras are used in all areas including security and surveillance. One example is video analytics: In the security market, especially in outdoor environments, the camera works as or instead of the human eye which can be easily blinded by natural or artificial events (fog, storms and sandstorms, masking attempts, etc.).
Especially in the field of critical infrastructures, where security is always treated serously, we will certainly continue to play a fundamental role knowing how to reconcile the laws of physics with the most modern and advanced analysis software. Our R&D department developed in 2022 a new “super-sensor” system called SYNAPSES with embedded AI. This self-adaptive system with video analytics and deep learning criteria enables the real time communication between CCTV and PIDS (Perimeter Intrusion Detection System): intrusion analysis is dynamically adapted to the real site conditions, distinguishing different targets in the video flow. It maximizes detection performance outdoor. That’s how we can integrate Sensors with AI solving the challenge to provide a very high security degree.”
Many thanks Fabrizio!
To find out more about CIAS and its solutions check out their webpage here.
