ICYMI: 2026 Innovation Showcase - Highlights from Exacq, Kantech & Illustra
Exacq, Kantech and Illustra took the stage in Montreal last week for the 2026 Innovation Showcase, unveiling new products, integrations and platform enhancements across access control, video management, AI and cloud technology.
The full showcase covered a lot of ground. If you didn't catch the livestream, here are some of the biggest announcements:
Jump to the Highlights
Kantech: ioSmart Expanse | Mobile Credentials | Kantech + Salto | EntraPass + BACnet | KTES2 | T-Rex 2
Kantech
ioSmart Expanse
A migration path for existing ioProx users.
Kantech continues to expand the ioSmart ecosystem while creating a practical path forward for its existing installed base. New ioSmart transmitters will include built-in ioProx capability, allowing customers to begin moving toward ioSmart without replacing their entire credential and reader infrastructure at once.
It's another example of Kantech's approach to innovation - bringing new technology forward while protecting the customer's existing investment.
Mobile Credentials
Mobile access is getting easier.
Kantech previewed a revamped EntraPass Go Pass experience with Smart Tap, designed to let users simply present their smartphone to an ioSmart reader rather than opening an app.
Android devices will utilize NFC, with a similar close-range experience on Apple devices using Bluetooth.
Enrollment is also being simplified. Users can receive an enrollment link and add their credential directly by presenting their phone at an ioSmart reader. The process can even work in a fully air-gapped environment without requiring cloud connectivity.
Kantech + Salto
One mobile credential across wired and wireless access.
The new Go Pass experience will also bring Kantech and Salto credentials together in one app. Users can enroll once and use their phone across both Kantech-controlled doors and Salto wireless locks, creating a much more unified experience across a facility.
For organizations using traditional access control alongside wireless locking, the integration creates a simpler experience for both system administrators and cardholders.
EntraPass + BACnet
Access control meets building automation.
New BACnet integration will create bidirectional communication between Kantech access control and compatible building automation systems.
An access-granted event could trigger HVAC or other building functions, for example, while an event from the building automation system could trigger an action within EntraPass. BACnet events can also be associated with Exacq video, creating new opportunities to connect security and facility operations.
KTES2
A new approach to tenant entry.
Kantech also unveiled KTES2, a new tenant-entry solution developed in partnership with MyDoorView and managed through EntraPass.
The new platform includes:
A 7-inch touchscreen tenant-entry station with PoE connectivity
Surface- and flush-mount options
Optional ioSmart reader integration
Video calling between visitors and tenants
Guest management controlled by the tenant
Modernized elevator integration
Temporary visitor PINs for access beyond the main entrance
A completely virtual KTES option using a customizable, geofenced QR code
Flat licensing per KTES rather than per tenant
The virtual KTES option is particularly interesting for locations where installing a physical entry station may be difficult or unnecessary. Visitors can scan a QR code at the entrance and use their own smartphone to connect with the tenant-entry system.
T-Rex 2
The longtime request-to-exit detector gets an upgrade.
The new T-Rex 2 LT combines two relays, a buzzer and tamper functionality into the device, simplifying both product selection and installation. Adjustable sensing, new mounting options and black and white versions round out the update.
Exacq
Scylla AI
Bringing advanced analytics to existing camera systems.
One of the biggest announcements on the video side was Exacq Intelligent Solutions powered by Scylla AI.
Scylla adds real-time AI analytics including:
Weapon detection
Facial recognition
Perimeter intrusion
Smoke and fire detection
Vehicle identification and tracking
Slip-and-fall detection
Suspicious shopper detection
Traffic-flow and occupancy analysis
Aggressive behavior detection
Perhaps most importantly, Scylla analytics can work with existing IP cameras capable of producing H.264 or H.265 video streams. That gives organizations an opportunity to add advanced AI capabilities without necessarily replacing an existing camera fleet.
Alerts are returned directly to Exacq, where operators can respond within their existing video workflow or receive notifications through Exacq Mobile.
Wasabi Cloud Storage
More options for hybrid video storage.
Exacq also expanded its hybrid-cloud strategy with Wasabi cloud archiving.
Previously limited to Enterprise licensing, cloud archiving is being opened to Exacq Professional systems as well.
Customers can use cloud storage to supplement local NVR storage - for example, retaining 30 days locally while moving longer-term footage to the cloud - as well as for disaster recovery or archiving video associated with specific events.
The result is another path toward cloud technology without requiring customers to abandon the local infrastructure they already own.
Exacq 26.1
Centralized management, cybersecurity and easier remote access.
The latest Exacq software developments focused heavily on making larger systems easier to manage, strengthening authentication and giving users more ways to interact with Exacq from anywhere.
Highlights include:
Okta and Microsoft Entra integration for centralized user authentication
Password auditing within Enterprise Manager
AI-assisted camera inspection to identify cameras with obstructed, moved or otherwise problematic views
Simplified remote connectivity without traditional port forwarding
Kantech and Salto audit information brought into the Exacq interface
Dark mode for control-room environments
ONVIF Profile T support
Multi-camera search and playback from Exacq Mobile
Video Push from mobile devices
A centralized mobile Alert Center
Exacq Web
A new browser-based Exacq experience.
Exacq also gave attendees the first look at Exacq Web, a redesigned browser-based video experience.
The new interface brings live video, recorded-video search, playback, exports, saved views, Monitor Wall and two-way audio into the browser.
Multiple Exacq servers can be brought together under a single web environment, reducing the need for users to think about which individual NVR hosts a particular camera.
It's another step toward making Exacq easier to access and manage while continuing to support the on-premise infrastructure customers already own.
Illustra
New Cameras
New options for LPR, panoramic and multisensor applications.
Illustra rounded out the showcase with several additions to its camera portfolio.
License Plate Recognition: A new LPR camera offers license plate recognition at distances approaching 200 feet, with IR illumination extending beyond 230 feet. The additional range creates more flexibility for installations where mounting a camera closer to the target area may be difficult.
180° Panoramic Coverage: A new three-sensor panoramic camera combines three 5MP sensors into a stitched 15MP, 180-degree image, providing wide-area coverage from a single camera location.
Multisensor Cameras: New fixed and varifocal multisensor options expand the portfolio for applications requiring flexible coverage from a single mounting location.
And one important reminder for Exacq users: Illustra cameras used with Exacq do not require an additional Exacq camera license.
Edge Analytics + Universal Mounts
More intelligence at the edge and simpler installation.
New Illustra cameras continue to expand edge-based analytics, including capabilities for identifying people and vehicles and searching based on attributes such as clothing color.
Illustra also introduced a more universal mounting platform designed to reduce the number of camera-specific mounting accessories installers need to stock. Pendant, gooseneck, corner and other mounting options can work together across more of the portfolio, simplifying both system design and installation.
The Bigger Picture: Hybrid, Integrated and Built to Evolve
If there was one theme tying the entire Innovation Showcase together, it was evolution without rip-and-replace.
Kantech is creating migration paths from legacy proximity credentials toward smart and mobile credentials. Exacq is adding cloud connectivity, AI and browser-based management while continuing to support on-premise systems. Scylla can add advanced analytics to existing cameras. And integrations between Kantech, Salto, Exacq and building systems continue to bring traditionally separate technologies into a more unified environment.
Taken individually, these are product announcements. Taken together, they tell a much bigger story.
The direction is clear: give customers a path toward AI, cloud, mobile technology and greater integration without requiring them to throw away the infrastructure they've already invested in.
That's particularly important in security, where systems aren't replaced every few years. The technology customers choose today may remain part of their infrastructure for a decade or more. Continuing to innovate while protecting that existing investment gives organizations the flexibility to adopt new technology at their own pace.
Want to know how any of these updates could fit into an upcoming project? Reach out to your TPI representative. We'll help you sort through what's available today, what's coming next and where each solution makes sense.
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