The smart home is one of the more interesting new developments in consumer electronics of the past few years. The key potential for the smart and automated home is not just what it can do now, but its ability to connect and integrate with other existing and future tech. For example, home security systems now mostly operate as standalone ecosystems, existing on their own local network or being run remotely by a security company. Hooking them into the smart home hub and allowing them to access smart appliances and other tools, promises to unlock some interesting new applications.
For example, consider something that a few smart home developers have been experimenting with conceptually; personal identification items. This might take the form of a ring, a key fob, or a lapel pin that uses RFID or a similar channel to communicate with the hub. Each item identifies the person carrying it, and then the smart home system can set up lighting, HVAC, and other preferences when it detects who is home or nearby. It’s easy to extend this idea to include security as well- a person without a known ID approaching the house could trigger locks and the activation of cameras, and it would even be possible to trigger calls to the police under certain circumstances, like an unapproved person entering the home when none of the family is present. This would all occur seamlessly and with no active effort.
Of course, this is somewhat cumbersome because it depends on each person carrying something that identifies them. But there are other ways that smart home automation can make home security more effective. Many of them involve reusing old tricks. For example, a smart hub can turn on some of the lights for part of the day or night to give the illusion that someone is home, even when the family is on vacation. Good oversight will ensure that this does not drain too much electricity.
It is also possible to take advantage of a different technology that can boost the performance of both the smart home and security: the cloud. Cloud storage of video surveillance can permit more stored video and better resolution, because the security system can use the smart hub to automatically save video to a cloud storage point. Many security cameras have to use onboard storage or a physical local memory dump, both of which are limited. The hub can intelligently make use of cloud space and decide when the security system’s sensors need to be on and monitoring as opposed to passively watching.
Currently, these applications are limited by the fact that smart home adaptation remains low. The technology is too new for most consumers to be on board. As time goes on and the entry costs come down, the larger user base will attract more interest from developers who want to combine smart hubs with security tools.
That could lead to a movement away from the classic security service with remote support and towards local, self-contained systems powered by the cloud that all run through the cloud. This would permit greater customization for each family’s needs and reduce the need for an ongoing subscription service.
This does open a new dimension to home security: hacking. Hacks and breaches have featured in everything from political drama to massive attacks on corporate data reserves, so before customers place their trust in an Internet-facing hub, they need to be confident that it will be safe. Promoting clear and powerful information security will become just as important as physical security for the home, and the two will be increasingly linked.
