Innovative electronic security and fire products manufacturer, Elmdene International a subsidiary of Potter Electric Signal, LLC – unveiled its unique Merlin MGD-S Graffiti Detector at the recent security show, IFSEC 2011.

The Merlin is designed to acoustically sense aerosol-propelled spray paints, and sound an alarm, so offering a real deterrent to what can be a costly form of anti-social behaviour. It can also be integrated with remote CCTV and alarm monitoring solutions.

The intelligent Merlin MGD-S Graffiti Detector, which Elmdene believes is the first product of its kind to be launched in the UK market, has already caught the attention of the judges for this year’s IFSEC 2011 Security Industry Awards, having been shortlisted in the key ‘Exterior Deterrent Product of the Year‘ category.

Typically, the compact – 120 x 80 x 50 mm, low visibility, Merlin MGD-S unit is wall-mounted with the range of detection tied in to the installed height. At 4.5 metres an individual unit can, potentially, cover out to 7.5 metres over a 120 degree field of coverage below the sensor. When it comes to its advanced acoustic detection capabilities, the Merlin MGD-S uses phase lock technology to maximise reliability, alarming, when a sound pattern associated with the use of aerosol spray paint is detected, in only 5-8 seconds. It also features tamper protection as standard, has a wide operational temperature range (-20 to 70 degrees C) so maximising potential applications and is straightforward to install with no manual detector configuration required.

Said Ian Moore, Managing Director, Elmdene International Limited: “We believe that there is tremendous potential for the Merlin MGD-S Graffiti Detector to be deployed in a wide range of graffiti prone locations – from the transport infrastructure to public buildings to stem, what can be, prohibitively expensive attacks. To put this into context, the financial burden of graffiti to local government alone, across the UK, is estimated to be over £1 billion, not withstanding the negative impact on the wider community.”

“There are, of course, other anti-graffiti measures available, such as special coatings for walls, but these are not foolproof and still require cleaning following an attack which obviously has financial implications. The real answer to this perennial problem, we contend, is to deploy an intelligent, cost effective, system like Merlin in hotspots to detect and stop graffiti attacks at the earliest possible stage before unsightly damage can be caused.”

Elmdene demonstrated a wired unit which allows the Merlin to be integrated into remote alarm and CCTV monitoring solutions. A standalone version is also to be rolled out shortly. This will deliver the flexibility for users to easily move the Graffiti Detector from one problem area to another.