KOCHI: The Kochi Municipal Corporation Town Hall hosted Autosec 2019, which was considered as Kerala’s largest security and automation expo, on May 3 and 4. The exhibition was organised by AKESSIA, the foremost association for surveillance in the state. Mayor of Kochi Corporation Soumini Jain inaugurated the event on May 3. More than 40 companies set up stalls at the event, with each company focusing on selling and promoting their brands.
The first edition of Autosec was organised in Kozhikode in 2017. According to Dipu Oomen, convenor of Autosec, there has been a substantial increase in the number of people attending, since its conception in 2017. “There has definitely been an increase in demand for surveillance cameras in Kerala. The range starts from Rs 20,000 and people have started prioritising security in the past few years,” he said. After the fourth major fire at Brahmapuram waste treatment plant in 2019, the mayor was insistent on fixing the problem by increasing the surveillance in the area. She was enthusiastic about visiting the various stalls and exploring the new products.
Companies such as EGLU Home Automation, TVT Camera, Dahua, C P Plus, Secure Eye Foxtech UK introduced new variants in the area of automation. “Nowadays, we have face recognition cameras, and such a biometric system can drastically improve security. Every individual entering the premise will be caught on camera and it would be made it easier to catch trespassers if their faces haven’t been registered in the system,” said Renjith M, general secretary of AKESSIA.
“People in Kerala are very discerning and look for specifications. The monthly average here is around 7,000 cameras, but the demand is certainly increasing,” said Nihadh, an employee of D-Link, a network equipment company. The organisers are hoping to host the next edition of Autosec in the next two years at a larger scale. (With inputs from Sharon Rachel and Aakash Hari)