Short answer: Mercury Security, part of HID, makes the controllers and I/O modules that many access control software platforms run on, and it sells them through OEM partners rather than as an end-user system. Edge.AI by Proptech.AI is a complete AI access control and visitor management system. You can connect Edge.AI to Mercury-based panels via Wiegand and keep your current software, avoiding rip-and-replace costs, or replace the system with Edge.AI standalone.
Key takeaways
- Mercury Security is an HID brand within the ASSA ABLOY Group, and its controllers sit underneath software from OEM partners such as LenelS2, Genetec, Avigilon and Honeywell.
- Comparing Mercury with Edge.AI means comparing panels and controllers with a complete system that includes entry devices, software, visitor management and analytics.
- Edge.AI can integrate with Mercury-based panels via Wiegand, so your current panels and software keep running while you add facial recognition and QR access.
- When a Mercury-based platform is due for a refresh, Edge.AI can also replace it as a standalone access control system, hosted in the cloud or on-prem.
What does Mercury Security actually make?
Mercury makes the controllers and interface modules that run the doors from a building’s equipment room; the software you log in to comes from a Mercury OEM partner.
HID acquired Mercury in 2017, and HID is an ASSA ABLOY Group brand. Mercury reports more than 30 OEM partners and more than 8 million controllers deployed. Its lineup includes MP Series intelligent controllers (MP4502, MP1502, MP2500 and MP1501), S4 Series I/O modules, MercOS firmware and an embedded app environment, and the earlier LP Series receives updates through 2028.
Mercury sells through an OEM-first channel: its SDK and API go only to authorized OEM partners, and end users get firmware and setup through their partner’s software. Its partner page lists LenelS2, Genetec, Avigilon, Acre Security, Alarm.com for Business, Honeywell, Genea and Keri Systems, among others.
Edge.AI by Proptech.AI is a complete proptech system instead: split-design entry devices plus software for access control, visitor management and analytics, using facial recognition, mobile QR codes and RFID cards at doors, turnstiles and elevators. See Edge.AI facial recognition access control.
Mercury panels vs. Edge.AI: what differs at a glance?
Because Mercury is hardware, several rows depend on your OEM software.
| Category | Mercury Security | Edge.AI by Proptech.AI |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | OEM access control hardware: intelligent controllers, I/O modules and firmware | Complete AI access control and visitor management system |
| Deployment (cloud or on-prem) | Panels installed on site; management software is cloud or on-prem, depending on the OEM partner | Cloud or on-prem hosting |
| Hardware approach | Open-architecture controllers and I/O modules wired to readers, locks and door sensors | Its own split-design devices, connected to panels or running standalone |
| Credentials supported | Depends on readers and OEM software; MP and S4 ports accept Wiegand, F/2F and OSDP readers | Facial recognition, app-free mobile QR codes and RFID cards |
| Facial recognition | Not a Mercury product; biometric readers connect through the panel. Check with your OEM partner | Built in; Proptech.AI specifies 99.9% accuracy, with fraud and spoofing alerts |
| Visitor management | Not a Mercury product; depends on your OEM software. Check with your OEM partner | Built in, with Outlook and Google Calendar invites and app-less pre-check-in |
| Analytics | Not a Mercury product; certified edge apps can run on MP controllers. Check with your OEM partner | Building usage: people counts, peak times, unique visitor counts, popular areas |
| Works with existing panels | Mercury is the panel; MP controllers work with existing Mercury Series 1 to 4 I/O modules | Yes, via Wiegand to existing card-based panels, including Mercury-based systems, or standalone |
| Best fit | Owners who want open hardware under their choice of software | Properties that want face, QR and visitor features, with or without their current panels |
Where Mercury Security is strong
Mercury is a common hardware layer under much of the access control industry, and that gives owners real advantages.
- Choice of software. Open architecture lets you choose, and later change, your software provider, though a new partner may need to update the OEM code on each board.
- Backward compatibility. MP controllers simplify migration from the LP Series and work with existing Mercury I/O modules.
- Cybersecurity at the panel. MP controllers support TLS 1.2 and 1.3, AES encryption, 802.1X and secure boot, and Mercury describes them as FIPS 140-3 users of OpenSSL.
- Building integrations. Mercury lists wireless locks from Schlage, ASSA ABLOY Aperio, SALTO and SimonsVoss, and high-level elevator integrations with Otis, KONE, ThyssenKrupp and Mitsubishi, depending on your OEM partner.
- Scale and standards. The MP4502 holds up to 2 million cardholders, and Mercury controllers carry UL 294 recognition.
If your software meets your needs, a Mercury-based system is a sound foundation to keep.
Where Edge.AI is different from a Mercury-based system
A Mercury panel decides whether a credential opens a door; Edge.AI adds how people are identified, how they enroll, how visitors arrive and what the building learns.
A person, not just a card number
Many Mercury-based doors still rely on cards or fobs, which get lost, lent and shared. Edge.AI recognizes enrolled faces, keeps QR codes and RFID cards as alternatives, and alerts staff to spoofing and fraud attempts at the door or turnstile.
Enrollment and visitors handled in one place
New people get an enrollment email, upload a selfie after a consent screen and have access on their next arrival. Visitors get their invitation from the host’s Outlook or Google Calendar, check in ahead of time on their phones without an app, and trigger an arrival notice to the host. On a Mercury-based platform, these features depend on your OEM software and add-ons.
Analytics and privacy kept apart from the panel
Edge.AI reports people counts, peak hours, unique visitors and popular areas across a portfolio, from an analytics platform separated from the management console and fed with tokenized, PII-stripped data. Its split device keeps sensitive connections and data away from the user-facing unit, unlike single-appliance biometric readers that can expose network, relay or Wiegand wiring if pulled off the wall. Edge.AI is designed to help you comply with frameworks such as GDPR Article 9 and BIPA. This is general information, not legal advice.
How does Edge.AI connect to Mercury-based panels?
Edge.AI offers four deployment modes, so you decide how much of the Mercury-based system to keep.
- Integrated: keep your Mercury panels and OEM software and connect Edge.AI via Wiegand; the system keeps running while Edge.AI adds facial recognition, QR codes and analytics. Mercury’s S4 modules and MP reader ports list Wiegand support, but some modules, such as the legacy MR62e, are OSDP-only, so check each door.
- Parallel: run Edge.AI next to the Mercury-based system at one entrance or one building while you pilot it.
- Hybrid: integrate at lobby turnstiles through the existing panels, and run Edge.AI standalone on amenity or tenant-suite doors.
- Full replacement: swap the Mercury-based system for Edge.AI as a standalone access control system, for example when your software is due for renewal.
Hosting can be cloud or on-prem, and the integrated and hybrid modes reuse the doors, wiring and panels you own, keeping upfront cost down. Our guide to adding facial recognition to existing access control covers each mode.
101 Greenwich in New York City, a JLL-managed, 25-floor, 480k RSF building with 1,500 tenants, previously relied on manual counting and a limited access control system. Six Edge.AI sensors were installed on six turnstiles and integrated with the existing card-based system, giving 24/7 secure access, and the building team recognized Proptech.AI’s work during its BOMA Pinnacle Award speech.
Cost of ownership: what to compare
The panel is only one line in the budget, so compare the full stack:
- OEM software: licenses or subscriptions and annual partner support.
- Panel lifecycle: controller and module refreshes, partner firmware updates and OEM code changes when switching software.
- Readers and credentials: card and fob purchases, printing, replacements and reissues after loss.
- Add-ons: separate visitor management, biometric readers and analytics tools.
- People: lobby and front-desk hours, badge administration, onboarding and offboarding.
- Integration labor: integrator time, wiring and turnstile work for each change.
Then request a subscription quote from Proptech.AI and set it against those recurring costs. Because an integrated upgrade reuses Mercury hardware you have already paid for, it is often the most cost-effective proptech project a property can take on.
Which should you choose: keep Mercury, add Edge.AI or replace?
Since Mercury is a foundation, the real decision is about the software and readers on top.
- Keep your Mercury-based system as it is if your OEM software meets your needs and you rely on panel-level features such as high-level elevator integration or wireless locks.
- Add Edge.AI in integrated or hybrid mode if you want hands-free entry at lobby turnstiles, app-less onboarding and calendar-based visitor invites without replacing the panels or the software your security team already uses.
- Replace with Edge.AI standalone if your software is due for replacement anyway, one subscription for access, visitors and analytics would be simpler, or you want a single vendor with cloud or on-prem hosting.
- Choose a Mercury OEM platform if you are specifying a new enterprise system around a particular software feature set; our comparisons of Proptech.AI and LenelS2 and Proptech.AI and Genetec cover two of Mercury’s Platinum Premier partners.
Browse all of our access control comparisons, or see how AI access control works by industry.
Frequently asked questions
Proptech.AI is less a direct alternative to Mercury Security than a complement to, or replacement for, the system built on it. Mercury makes controllers and I/O modules sold through OEM software partners, while Edge.AI by Proptech.AI is a complete access control and visitor management system with facial recognition, QR codes and RFID cards. Edge.AI can connect to Mercury-based panels via Wiegand, or replace the whole system as a standalone platform.
Yes, Edge.AI can sit on top of an existing Mercury-based system. Edge.AI connects to existing access control panels via Wiegand, keeping your panels and software in service while adding face and QR entry plus building analytics. The other options are a parallel pilot, a hybrid of integrated and standalone doors, or a full standalone replacement, with cloud or on-prem hosting. Confirm the reader interface on each door with your integrator before you start.
Mercury Security is not an end-user software platform. Mercury, an HID brand, makes intelligent controllers, I/O modules and firmware that OEM partners such as LenelS2, Genetec, Avigilon, Honeywell and Genea build their access control software on. Mercury sells through an OEM channel, makes its SDK available only to authorized OEM partners, and directs end users to their OEM partner for firmware and system setup.
Mercury Security is owned by HID, which acquired the company in 2017, and HID is an ASSA ABLOY Group brand. Mercury continues to develop open-architecture access control hardware under HID, including the MP Series intelligent controllers announced in 2024 and the newer S4 Series I/O modules. Mercury hardware reaches buyers through Mercury OEM partners rather than being sold directly to end users.
You do not need to replace Mercury panels to add facial recognition with Edge.AI by Proptech.AI. Edge.AI connects to existing access control panels via Wiegand, so the panels and current software keep running while people enter with their face, a mobile QR code or an RFID card. Proptech.AI specifies 99.9% accuracy, and enrollment is app-less: people receive an email, take a selfie and upload it, with consent shown first.
Add Edge.AI to the panels you already own
Describe your doors, turnstiles and current software, and we will map out an integrated, hybrid or standalone Edge.AI rollout for your property. Send the details through the contact form at the bottom of this page, or email sales@proptech.ai, to book a demo or get a subscription quote.
Sources: Mercury Security; Mercury MP intelligent controllers; Mercury products and S4 I/O modules; Mercury OEM partners; Mercury product FAQ; HID, new Mercury MP controller line (accessed November 2026)
Mercury Security and HID are trademarks of their respective owners. Proptech.AI is not affiliated with Mercury Security or HID. This comparison is based on publicly available information as of November 2026; features change, so confirm details with each vendor.