Ambient access control for smart spaces: Dynamic guidance and zone configuration

Buildings and other facilities must protect their assets and occupants from hazards and unauthorised intrusion, with access control systems a critical component of the management of the facilities. The advent of pervasive systems and cyber-physical systems means that access control can become dynamic, responding to the observed locations of people and objects, and meeting the stated needs of the occupants. We present three components of a smart ambient access control system for safety and security. We describe dynamic routing around mobile assets or hazards, dynamic security classification which changes the security state of rooms and zones based on observed presence of items, and dynamic zone configuration, which adapts the access states of controlled doorways to construct larger virtual zones, to provide for free movement within newly constructed zones, and to provide secure zones around assets and people as required. The components are demonstrated in an architecture integrating GPS-enabled devices, webservers, management software and optimisation solvers.