Residential security systems - Security beat
Companies at GSX 2023 emphasized new ways that technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the cloud can address long-standing issues in the security market. Among the exhibitors at the event in Dallas were companies seeking creative ways to apply technology, lower costs, and make the world a safer place. Reflecting on the exhibition, here are some additional takeaways. Expanding AI at the edge i-PRO is a company reflecting the continued expansion of edge AI capability in the...
PKOC stands for Public Key Open Credential. It is a new standard that will meet a 30-year industry challenge and strip away much of the complexity and cost involved in protecting and administering credentials for access control. It could also accelerate the transition from cards to mobile access control. PKOC is a standards-based mobile credential that is essentially free, vendor-agnostic, and interoperable across multiple devices and systems. It is a highly secure access credential that can l...
Clean, safe mass transit systems benefit everyone. Today’s transit operators face tremendous challenges, including declining revenue due to work-from-home policies, concerns about disease prevention, and high crime environments. Among these concerns, difficulty recruiting and retaining police resources has been exacerbated by the ongoing mental health crisis that disproportionately impacts public transportation networks. Mass transit systems Safe cities require an operational environme...
New robots and indoor drones for security applications are on the horizon, based on the work of ADT Commercials’ Innovation Lab, which is evaluating the new technologies’ value to customers and some typical use cases. The Innovation Lab has been in place for just under a year and just moved into a 2,000-square-foot facility that is staffed with four dedicated ADT Commercial employees and teams from various commercial innovation partners. The idea of the lab is to close the gap bet...
Casinos offer several attractive applications for LiDAR, including security and business intelligence. Using laser sensors, the technology can replace the use of surveillance cameras. For casino security, LiDAR can track player movement and provides complete coverage and accuracy that have not been achievable by surveillance cameras. Massive coverage areas can save on costs of sensor deployment versus other technologies. LiDAR and its applications LiDAR is a method for determining ranges by t...
Convergint Technologies’ rapid growth has come through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions — they have acquired 35 companies since 2014. Growth has been a focus since day one when the founders started the systems integration company with 10 colleagues in a basement. Today, the diverse company includes more than 5,000 employees globally. As technology has advanced and business practices have evolved, Convergint’s core values and beliefs have guided their path forwa...
The cloud is here to stay. Its resilience and ability to connect the world during the COVID-19 pandemic has proved its worth, even to the uninitiated who have now witnessed first-hand the value of connected systems. Video and access control as a service provides a flexible and fluid security and business solution to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving industry, where the changing threat landscape means investing in the cloud is an investment towards success. This article will look back at o...
The Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC) has a mission to be the voice of the electronic security industry on issues involving municipal alarm management for the approximately 18,000 public safety agencies in the U.S. and Canada. Specifically, SIAC works to minimize the number of false alarms, which are a costly waste of resources for law enforcement jurisdictions. SIAC works directly with leaders in law enforcement at the national level, such as the International Association of Chiefs of P...
Security’s intersection with consumer electronics is on view at CES 2020, the world’s largest technology event, Jan. 7-10 in Las Vegas. The giant show features more than 170,000 attendees, 4,500 exhibitors and 1,100 industry thought-leaders featured on the CES stage. A range of technologies will be on display, from artificial intelligence (AI) to 5G, vehicle technology to AR/VR (augmented and virtual reality), robotics to home automation. Security plays a prominent role, too.The imp...
Across the security industry, power supplies are too often an afterthought and the first item in an access control system to be value-engineered. However, when the power supply fails on a high-end access control device, the system becomes a very expensive paperweight. Fortunately, there are now power supply units available that can enhance system reliability by providing remote diagnostics and real-time reporting and analytics. There is also a mistaken perception that all power supplies are th...
The success of smart homes began with professional security providers offering bundled packages, focused mostly on security monitoring. However, due to the cost of professional contracts, consumers began to embrace the do-it-yourself (DIY) approach. Despite the challenges and opportunities that come with professional and DIY approaches, the momentum of smart home growth depends on these two approaches working symbiotically. Smart home systems In 2017, there were about 122 million smart home de...
The boundaries between the smart home market and security market at large are narrowing. Amidst a wave of expansion, suddenly everything is becoming digital. Home automation has been around for close to 30 years but hasn’t really hit it big because integration hasn’t been that simple. Now that the Internet of Things has stepped into the market, home automation is really taking off. As technology in the smart home market advances, the gap between the residential and professional secur...
Private video systems are offering new sources of evidence for police investigations. Growing popularity of private camera registration schemes are facilitating police department access to video captured by cameras in homes and businesses for use in their investigations. Camera registration programs are organized locally by individual police departments but have common features and operation. By registering their camera systems, citizens and business people provide information to a confidential...
The phrase ‘eye in the sky’ is taking on a whole new meaning as the concept of home security drones becomes a plausible idea that could be realized in the not-too-distant future. It’s a possibility that came to light recently in the form of a patent that was granted to Amazon for ‘Image Creation Using Geo-Fence Data’. The patent specifies a “geo-fence, which may be a virtual perimeter or boundary around a real-world geographic area.” An unmanned autonom...
Who is more likely to rob your home – a friend or a stranger? Is a burglary more likely to occur when you are at home or away? Does gun ownership contribute to more effective home security? What about a loud, barking dog? A recent survey by Reviews.org considered these and other consumer preconceptions about home security and how they compare with the facts. "Everyone wants to feel safe at home but not everyone knows which home safety measures will actually help protect them,” say...
Among the cloud’s many impacts on the physical security market is a democratization of access control. Less expensive cloud systems are making electronic access control affordable even to smaller companies. cloud-based access control With the growing cloud-based access control market, integrators can find more opportunities in small businesses and vertical markets that typically wouldn’t be on the radar of their sales team. Large upfront costs for a server, software and annua...
Security is among the defining topics at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019 this week in Las Vegas. More than 4,500 exhibiting companies are participating, including some 1,200 startups, highlighting the next wave of innovation in consumer electronics – and security. Twenty-four product categories at CES feature solutions to transform how consumers live, work and play. Technologies being highlighted include 5G connectivity, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and virtual reality...
When Linus Yale Sr. invented the pin tumbler cylinder lock, it was the start of an iconic security brand that would eventually be known all over the world. What began in a lock shop in Newport, N.Y., would eventually evolve into the global presence of the brand “Yale” that we know today. The Yale brand was purchased in August 2000 by the Swedish lock manufacturer ASSA ABLOY Group, which expanded Yale’s global presence in the ensuing years and recently has led the way into smar...
The concept of door locks means something totally different in our current age of smarter buildings that house data-driven businesses. Hardware locks and keys are still around, but they co-exist with a brave new world of electronic locks, wireless locks, networked systems, and smarter access control. Locks can also increasingly be a part of a smart building’s flow of data. The opportunities of these new technologies and approaches are significant, but there are also pitfalls. I heard an in...
Security is more-than-ever linked to consumer electronics, especially in the residential/smart home market. CES 2018 in Las Vegas is therefore brimming with news that will have a direct impact on the security market, today and especially looking into the future. Products for the future of security CES is a giant trade show for consumer electronics with 2.75 million net square feet of exhibitor space and featuring more than 3,900 exhibitors, including 900 startups - in contr...
As a “futurist” for lock manufacturer Allegion, Robert C. Martens says he is “part strategist, part predictor” – looking at megatrends, current events, technology changes, and how those changes impact Allegion’s business customers and partners. Spanning both the commercial and residential businesses, Martens considers various scenarios for business leaders and partners, specifically regarding where technologies and electronics are going. Today, he spends a lo...
Cybersecurity is an ongoing concern in the realm of home automation and security systems. Joe Albaugh brought a unique perspective to the subject in July when he became Chief Security Officer (CSO) of Vivint, the second largest residential security and home automation provider in the United States. Albaugh’s approach to the cybersecurity aspects of home automation is based on his 20 years of experience including past positions as chief information security officer for three large, critical...
Demand for covert cameras in the home has doubled in the last two years, according to one camera supplier. These additional “hidden” cameras are also increasingly being networked into home security systems, and installation of the newest covert IP cameras is do-it-yourself easy. Covert cameras appeal to consumers who don’t want the industrial look of video cameras disrupting their décor. They are also the latest variation on “nanny-cams” that keep watch...
The security market is awash in stories about how big companies sought to step in and transform the market, from GE to Cisco to several cable or telecom companies. There is generally a lot of hand-wringing over “what it means” when you hear about a big company entering the market. So far the impact of bigger players on our status quo as a fragmented market has been minimal, but it still causes waves when a big company sets its sights on security. Such is the case with Apple, the late...
We keep hearing about the “Internet of Things” (IoT) and wondering how it will impact the physical security industry. It turns out the Federal government is working now to direct development and testing of such systems with an eye toward a variety of future applications. The U.S. government calls such technology “Cyber-Physical Systems” (CPS) and is looking for ways they can be used to improve safety, sustainability, efficiency, mobility and the overall quality of life....
