Two years ago, I had my first opportunity to roam the gigantic show floors at International CES. On a personal level, it forever changed the way I perceive a trade show and how to attack it – especially ISC West, which is the security industry’s closest facsimile (and it doesn’t even come close).
My other major take-away from the CES show floor was how it truly gives our industry a look into its future. Yes, CES is for consumers, and a great deal of the products and innovations are designed for lifestyle and entertainment; however, a good chunk of the technologies – even the ones for entertainment – are on the bleeding edge of the security space.
Smart Home
Vivint, Honeywell, ADT and other major security service providers have found a new home at CES in the smart home/technology area. Soon enough, everything that can possibly be smart in our homes will be connected – last year at CES, there were smart stoves and fridges; from smart ceiling fans to frying pans and everywhere in between.
Vivint, in fact, announced full integration with the Amazon Echo platform at CES 2016 – giving your customers full voice control over every smart element in their homes. Alexa, turn on my lights...Alexa, make it warmer in here...you get the idea.
Alexa (and her competing cousin Siri), in fact, were all over last year’s show, as companies scrambled to make their tech products compatible with voice control. Obviously, this is a harbinger of greater adoption in the security industry – from smart home customers to small and large businesses.
Smart companies in our industry are integrating with DIY and consumer tech as much as possible. ADT, for example, partnered with LG to develop the LG Smart Security Solution – a connected cam with a 152-degree field of view packaged together with a smart home hub, environmental monitor and siren. ADT also announced it would support professional central monitoring for the device via its new Canopy service, designed to offer central monitoring for a variety of DIY smart home devices and hubs.
Video Innovation & Virtual Reality
It seems like a distant memory among the regular attendees of CES, but 4K video and display, and H.265 were once “the thing” on the show floor. We all know how those technologies are infiltrating the security industry at this very moment.
In 2016, “the thing” in the video space actually mirrored the security industry: 360-degree video. Nikon announced a shock-resistant, waterproof personal camera (a GoPro competitor) that could shoot 4K ultra high definition (UHD) video with a 360-degree field of view and electronic image stabilization.
Many DIY home security cameras were on display, and one that caught many eyes was zmodo’s pivoting security camera – which uses a 360-degree motion sensor to enable it to detect motion in an entire room and then turn the camera to record it. Even if your customers dont have it themselves, it sure sounds like technology that would and should be imitated in the commercial security space!
Other interesting tidbits included: The Toucan from Kuna, which transforms an existing light fixture into one equipped with a security camera and motion sensor; and the Netatmo Presence home security camera, which features the type of video analytics in professional security – detecting the difference between cars, people and animals.
VR and its cousin, augmented reality, are only for the video gamers, right? Wrong! Many pundits called CES 2016 the year of VR, and its uses extend far past your kid’s Playstation. Here’s a great example: Intel's Daqri smart helmet is intended for real-life work situations where people must keep their hands free to do installation, repair, etc. Imagine your security technician on a ladder wearing this helmet – his or her hands would be free to install the camera while an instruction manual or schematic hovers in the virtual space next to it.
VR is also being used for system design and implementation; in fact, one such system was on display at ASIS this year (read more in Ray Coulombe’s Tech Trends column this month).
Make the Trip
CES is in early January, so there is still time to get it on your calendar. If you own or manage a security services company, it might behoove you to take a day or two and head to Vegas – rest assured, you won’t be disappointed (consider it a perk of upper management).
For those of you reading this who cannot spare the time or the expense, I would highly encourage you to follow the trends and read as much as you can from sources like CNET to get a feel for the technologies that are right around the corner in the industry you serve.
Paul Rothman is Editor in Chief of Security Dealer & Integrator (SD&I) magazine. Access the current issue and full archives at www.secdealer.com.
