With major investment in research and development, Chinese detector manufacturers are innovating and, in the process, turning the stereotype of poor Chinese quality on its head.
With major investment in research and development, Chinese detector manufacturers are innovating and, in the process, turning the stereotype of poor Chinese quality on its head.
In the past, most Chinese detector manufacturers focused only on lowering costs to attract international buyers. Now, they are aware of the fact that innovation is the best strategy to leverage company value. Without technology, one company is easily replaced by another. While detectors are not fast-moving products, they are experiencing steady growth. Now, Chinese manufacturers of the devices are investing to develop advanced technology and improved quality.
Chinese detector manufacturers are updating products to provide improved anti-interference, power consumption and transmission stability. They are also looking to enhance AI scalability, especially so that detectors can be integrated to a greater extent with home automation and video security devices. According to one market survey, the Chinese market has also seen a lot of demand for curtain detectors for home applications.
Meian, which was established in 2000, has patented its dynamic matrix time (DMT) and dynamic matrix frequency (DMF) technologies in China. "DMT calculates movement over time," said Pi Youlin, Director at Meian. "It does not send out alarms when a cat is moving on the premises. It distinguishes between people and pets."
Then, DMF calculates the pace of people passing the detector. If the pace is stable, it is recognized as human. DMT and DMF have improved sensitivity and accuracy. "For outdoor applications," said Pi, "we have created point movement technology that uses two microwave detectors one higher, the other lower. Only movement detected from both sensors simultaneously triggers the alarm, lowering the rate of false alarms."
Longhorn has patented its temperature compensation technology, said Helen Peng, Sales Director at Longhorn. One algorithm cross-references outside temperature and that of the human body. With this technology, Longhorn products are very good in terms of anti-jamming, which lowers false alarm rates.
Safestnet's best-selling detector has three embedded sensors. "Our patented blur logic digital analysis eliminates interference that ordinary detectors cannot," said Colin She, Sales Manager at Safestnet. "Our product is not susceptible to interference from other frequencies, ensuring stability and lower false alarm rates." According to She, the company has also changed its PCB. "By making them more compact," said She, "we not only save power, but also enhance detector stability and longevity."
Others are looking to lenses to raise product quality. "The lens is 50 percent of a quality detector," said Pi. "Then, 30 percent is software, 20 percent hardware." A good lens should be checked for two criteria: clarity and angle of cut.
"Longhorn has been cooperating with one Japanese lens manufacturer for a year," said Peng. "The Japanese are noted for their superb quality in lens manufacturing." Safestnet, said She, has designed two lenses for curtain and wide-angle detectors. "Our curtain detectors use horizontally grained lenses; the wide-angle has vertically grained ones. This enables them to analyze signals more precisely, providing much more rapid feedback."
Improved sensors are also making detectors more user-friendly. Unlike older sensors, bidirectional ones confirm communication feasibility. Another benefit is sensitivity adjustment via mobile phone or the Internet; this is something that traditional sensors cannot achieve. Users can access control panels via mobile phone for weekly auto analysis reports, adjusting sensitivity to match requirements.
Safestnet provides user-friendly audio instruction so users can easily turn alarms on and off. "Before setting functions," said She, "the control panel goes through a complete self-check. If the control panel detects something unusual, such as telephone line failure, it reminds the user to check to see whether the detector is unplugged."
"We provide detectors with any language," said She. "Our R&D team just writes that into the software. This enables users to operate the control panel even when they have lost the user manual." Ramping up Exports "Exports most of which go to Europe make up about three-fifths of our revenue," said Pi. "Europe has lower temperatures than China so we have had to adapt our detectors to meet their requirements." The high-end market is no cake walk, said Pi. "We have been exporting there for five years. Newcomers, though, are going to find the tough testing a major hurdle."
At Longhorn, 50 percent of product is exported. Again, Europe is the primary destination. "Our products are popular," said Peng, "because of their stylish design, great performance and user-friendly installation. Our best-selling PIR⌒ the LH-980A⌒features selectable pulse count, bidirectional temperature compensation, high EMI and RFI immunity, and detection up to 18 meters."