ONVIF has published the Release Candidate for Profile D, which is a draft specification covering interfaces for access control peripherals. This newest profile candidate is designed to provide ONVIF interoperability for devices such as locks, credentials/biometric readers, PIN pads, license plate recognition cameras, door phones, sensors and displays. 

Patrik Björling, Chair of the ONVIF Profile D Working Group, said the new specification allows for the integration of products from different manufacturers and help further drive adoption of ONVIF interfaces in the physical access control and video surveillance space. “Profile D, together with access management profiles like ONVIF Profile A and C, and video profiles like ONVIF Profile T, will help users build modern and secure IP-based access control systems,” said Björling.

The need for standardized interfaces between access control management systems and peripheral devices is driven by identification technologies such as license plate recognition cameras for parking management, bar code reading cameras for visitor management, wireless locks and sensors for access control and video door stations for intercom management. 

Using Profile D, a peripheral device, such as the ones listed above, can pass credential identifiers to a securely located Profile D conformant client – like an access control device or management software. From there, the client or controller can take the access decision and send a command back to the peripheral device to grant or deny access, display a message or request additional input such as a PIN code.

For more information on Profile D, you can find the full press release here. Additional information on ONVIF profiles can be found here.