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Smart Home Security Latest Developments, Future Trends and Operators Strategic Planning
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Smart Home Security Latest Developments, Future Trends and Operators Strategic Planning - Video
One of the most troubling issues with home security and remote-monitoring products is the complexity and cost to set them up. Blink, a new Kickstarter project, is different. It promises to be astoundingly easy, and it's inexpensive, too. Backers can get a simple remote motion detection and video camera unit for just US$69 -- or two for $119.
Better yet, no yearly or monthly subscription service is required to use Blink. And the batteries last a year.
Amazingly sensible.
So far, nearly 4,700 project backers agree, having pledged $684,888. Blink blew past its $200,000 goal and has reached a stretch goal for a 105-decibel siren alarm add-on module.
The small Blink module can be placed or mounted anywhere, and because it requires no external power source, you can move it around easily. To connect it to your home WiFi, you plug in a small Sync Module and use Blink's smartphone app to configure the basic settings.
As you might expect, the Blink remote-monitoring system is expandable, letting you place the devices all over your home.
After you place a Blink unit, motion will trigger an instant-on five-second HD video recording. This recording can go to Blink's secure servers in the cloud -- or better yet, if you don't like the idea of any personal video being stored anywhere not 100-percent in your own control, you can set your recordings to be stored to an attached USB stick.
With the Blink app, you can invoke a live-streaming mode to simply take a quick peek at your place to see what's going on, too.
When Blink records, an audio beep lets you know it's recording (you can turn this feature off), and a non-hackable LED light glows to let you know the camera is recording. For use when people are at home, this is a signal that Blink is active. If intruders are tooling around your place, presumably they could see the light, too -- but discrete placement might mean they wouldn't see it. Obviously, the add-on siren could be used to warn criminals away.
What if your WiFi should go down while you're on vacation? You'd get an alert sent to your smartphone. You can use the app to set up automatic arming or disarming schedules, or use location-based rules to define when the system is active.
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Close Your Eyes and Rest Easy - Blink Is Watching the House
NEW YORK Fortune Brands Home & Security Inc. said Wednesday that it has agreed to sell its Simonton Windows business to building products maker Ply Gem Holdings Inc. for about $130 million.
The deal is expected to close in October.
Fortune Brands, which makes Master Lock padlocks, Kemper kitchen cabinets and Moen water faucets, said it is selling its window business to focus on its Therma-Tru door business and Fypon home trim business.
The company expects the sale of Simonton to cut its earnings per share during the second half of 2014 between 2 cents and 4 cents.
Ply Gem, which is based in Cary, North Carolina, said it is buying Simonton to help it grow its windows division and plans to operate the company as a stand-alone business.
Simonton is based in Columbus, Ohio and also has manufacturing facilities in West Virginia, Illinois and California.
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Fortune Brands to sell its window business to Ply Gem Holdings for $130 million
Josh Miller/CNET
In a move to help users "put their homes on auto-pilot," home security giant ADT announced today that it'll soon be unveiling an ADT Pulse channel on IFTTT, the popular online automation service.
Short for "if this, then that," IFTTT is a free tool that lets its users craft cause and effect-based automation recipes from a wide array of integrated Web services, social networks, and smart home gadgets.
Plugging ADT Pulse into that network means that the security offering's more than 850,000 subscribers will soon be able to program their smart security setups in countless new ways, from using a wearable sleep tracker to disarm their systems when they wake up, to controlling the thermostat based on readings from IFTTT-friendly environmental sensors.
The move reflects IFTTT's growing influence, as tech companies both large and small are increasingly using the free service as an easy means of offering fairly comprehensive third-party automation capabilities. ADT will easily be one of the biggest and most mainstream channels IFTTT offers, which should only help continue to grow the service's appeal.
By integrating with IFTTT, ADT suddenly becomes compatible with dozens of new Web tools and third-party connected gadgets. It's potentially, a very savvy defensive play, as small-scale, forward-thinking security startups with an eye on automation seem to be gaining traction -- though no notable competitors offer IFTTT support yet. Additionally, as IFTTT continues to grow, ADT can continue adding feathers to its cap and extending its list of products and services it can claim compatibility with.
Exposing an existing home security system to so many new devices at once could potentially expose it to new vulnerabilities, however. If a third-party device that's capable of turning the alarm off through IFTTT is easily hacked, for instance, that's a real problem.
ADT's team acknowledged these sorts of concerns when I spoke with them, and is promising to take things slow. The new IFTTT channel will go through several months of beta testing before ADT opens it to the public next year. By then, the company hopes to have closer relationships with the services and devices that seem to be an especially good fit for ADT Pulse, and to be in more of a position to promise its user base a high standard of security through recommended recipes.
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ADT teams up with IFTTT to automate home security
A smorgasbord of home improvement choices are on display this weekend at the 30th Southern Ideal Home Show at The Park Expo and Conference Center. Experts will showcase products and dole out advice on topics ranging from curb appeal to interior decorating to major remodeling.
The focus of this years show is Weve done the work for you, says Show Manager Mardee Woodward. We have brought every category of home improvement, decorating and design under one roof, she says. It is one stop shopping, so customers can talk to several experts in the same category and compare. Many customers bring their plans to the show on iPads, which makes it easy for vendors to give personal advice. And its free advice, she says.
Trends include white and light colors in the kitchen and bath cabinet category. LED outdoor lighting is another hot trend. The prices are affordable, and the blue tint is gone, says Woodward. Home security system innovations allow people to check their alarm systems remotely. Plumbing highlights include a Kohler experience tour called Trust the Flush hosted by Ferguson Kitchen & Bath. Hardscape is popular in the landscaping arena. It uses manufactured or natural stone to create usable outdoor space.
Customers will enter the show through the IDEAL Foyer. Its six vignettes emphasize the importance of first impressions in welcoming guests to a home. Cobalt blue and fuscia provide pop. A 5-inch hand scraped hickory floor made by American Scrapes provides class.
On the IDEAL Home Stage, Observer Home&Garden columnist Vicki Payne, designer of a home textile collection and host of the PBS series For Your Home, will speak about reimagining exterior design. WKQZs Brenda Matthews will speak about the role paint can play in home dcor. Cooking demonstrations, hosted by Heidi Billotto will feature a variety of Charlotte area chefs, including Heirlooms Clark Barlow, The Peach Stands butcher Sal Bonsangue, and Kings Kitchens Sam Stachon, to name a few.
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Get decorating, remodeling advice at Southern Ideal Home Show
Police investigating a series of break and enters at businesses across the South East in recent weeks have released CCTV images of a man who may be able to assist with their enquiries. Anyone who might recognise the man is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Logan police claim a crackdown in the city has cut the crime rate this year. Source: Supplied
FOUR Gold Coast suburbs are among the worst crime hotspots for home break-ins in Queensland, with most thieves targeting cash and jewellery.
Broadbeach, Broadbeach Waters, Mermaid Beach and Mermaid Waters were on the list as the worst on the Gold Coast but it was two Logan City suburbs that are the states worst for home break-ins.
That is according to RACQ Insurances Home Security Index, based on claims lodged with the company last year.
FIGHTING: Polair called to support police after wild brawl
LOGAN CITY: Harder to find properties to rent
RACQ executive manager of insurance communications Mike Sopinski said Crestmeadand Marsden led Queensland in the category, with 3.4 per cent of policy holders lodging claims.
Ellen Grove and Forest Lake, in Brisbanes southwest, were the next worst suburbs, with a claims/theft incidence rate of 2.64, meaning 2.64 out of every 100 policy-holders lodged claims.
But Logan police claim a crackdown in the city has cut the crime rate this year.
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Do you live in a break-in hotspot?
Police are remaining tight-lipped about a prowler who struck the Ottawa home of Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau while his family slept inside.
Over the weekend, Mr. Trudeaus office issued a statement providing a bare outline of the early-morning break-in, which unnerved the family and raised questions about the high-profile leaders lack of security.
Mr. Trudeaus wife, Sophie Grgoire-Trudeau, and the couples three children were sleeping Saturday morning when the intruder slipped into the family home, located in Ottawas Rockcliffe Park neighbourhood. Nothing was stolen and nobody was hurt. All that remained was a hand-written threatening note.
The RCMP referred all media calls to the Ottawa Police Service. An investigator with the OPS Break and Enter Unit confirmed the incident but would only provide a No comment when asked about details of the note, which reportedly warned the Trudeau family to lock their doors.
Mr. Trudeau was working in Manitoba at the time of the break-in before travelling to Montreal to participate in the citys gay pride festivities. He told reporters there he was extremely troubled over the incident and that his family joined him in Montreal on Saturday to avoid staying in the Ottawa home. He plans to spend the next three days in Edmonton for the partys summer caucus meeting. Were a little bit rattled, but were hoping that investigation and security will keep us safe in the future, he told CBC.
The RCMPs Protective Operations unit is responsible for shielding senior federal leaders, such as the Prime Minister, Governor-General and Leader of the Official Opposition. As head of the third party, Mr. Trudeau isnt entitled to that security. The Minister of Public Safety, however, does have the authority to add to the list of those requiring protection.
In the wake of the break-in, the RCMP will likely conduct its own threat assessment and offer some level of protection to Mr. Trudeau if the risk is considered legitimate, according to a retired RCMP officer who specialized in VIP protection.
They will want to determine the validity of the threat, of the note, and then theres usually a sit-down with the person whos been threatened, said Ty Watts, who watched over the entire Trudeau family, including baby Justin, when then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau was in power. Mr. Watts now runs LTD & Associates, a private investigation and security firm.
He said he no longer feels so protective of Mr. Trudeau, now 42 years of age, but suggested the Mounties should take the note seriously. He said the RCMP routinely provide security for MPs and consular officials where there is a legitimate security risk, and Mr. Trudeau would be no different.
Of course, they could also determine based on the note that the whole thing is a prank. That happens.
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Break-in in Justin Trudeau's home raises questions about the leaders security
Chris Davies
Prepare to hear a lot more about SmartThings. Kickstarter success turned Samsung acquisition, the smart home startup isn't the only DIY approach to home automation and security out there, but it may well end up being one of the best funded. SmartThings' mantra is one of openness, aiming to work with as many third-party components as possible rather than lock users into a closed platform. Admirable, but it could easily add up to confusion; I've been living the SmartThings life for the past six months to see whether it works.
We've come a long way in home automation. What once was solely the preserve of the rich, demanding expensive installation or - if foresight had been lacking during construction - even more expensive retrofitting, has transitioned to a new age of plug & play components, cross-platform connectivity, and the sort of DIY-friendliness that makes setting it up yourself straightforward.
That's a marked difference from the attempts at consumer smart home tech that came in-between. X10 and other platforms were flexible but complex, and more frustratingly for everyday use they were often ugly in a bland, beige, unstyled way. All that changed with the advent of the smartphone.
SmartThings' approach - like others we've seen in recent months, such as Revolv - has been to eschew clunky controllers and complicated dip-switches for setup, and instead turn the smartphone into a remote control. The company's app handles not only installation but ongoing interaction, whether you're home or away.
The $99 hub itself is a small block of glossy white plastic, powered by a wall-wart AC adapter, and hooking up to your router with a supplied ethernet cable. Inside, there's most conspicuously ZigBee and Z-Wave radios; WiFi is handled by your home router. Absent are Insteon and Bluetooth.
From that central beginning it's a case of adding your choice of peripherals, with SmartThings offering a range of its own as well as compatibility with a growing number of third-party devices. The easiest way to get going is with one of the company's starter kits, which includes the hub and a few bundled components.
There are five main pieces to the SmartThings range. The Multi Sensor looks the most straightforward, a battery-powered door or window sensor that's stuck in place with self-adhesive strips and triggered when the two parts are separated. However, inside it also has an accelerometer for reporting physical movement, and a thermometer for tracking temperature.
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SmartThings Review: Living in the Smart Home