International CES 2015 has been and gone, with all the weird and wonderful gadgetry expected from it. It was hyped as being all about the ‘connected home’ and, indeed, it delivered a variety of gizmos that are meant to make our home lives easier. We’ve brought you a sample of home automation products with security applications – but what value do they provide? And are concerns as to the security of such products an obstacle to their use?
The most fun gadget on show (and admittedly one that is only loosely security related) was the updated version of Logbar’s Ring. The Washington Post explains that, in conjunction with the upcoming Ring Hub, you’ll have the power to control curtains, your TV and more from a distance of metres when you gesture with the device. It also reports that to be due in March.
The security staple of CCTV looks to have stepped forward with Netatmo Welcome, the sort of device that science-fiction fans will be clamouring for. It won’t just record events but will use facial recognition technology to see who is in the property, and can notify you via mobile as to who it detects. You’ll also be able to buy ‘tags’ that can be placed to let you know when a door or window’s been opened – or even when there’s a knock on one!
Smartphones-linked devices were, in this mobile-dependent age, naturally prolific. Door locking is a predictable usage that was on display in the form of the Schlage Sense lock system. The main feature of the device is, yes, to use a smartphone to unlock the door, but you can also use a touchpad and a key.
There were also other ways to control your home with a smartphone. Misfit’s Bolt bulbs, for instance, allow you to use your phone to determine the radiance and colour of its light. Another example is Incipio’s variety of devices, which allow you to wirelessly control power in your home with special adapters for bulbs and sockets, and a power strip for a number of plugs. It’s that close-up, specific level of control which makes these devices valuable.
The devices that constitute the connected home, or ‘Internet of Things’, have caused mixed reactions, though. For instance, tech writer and developer Alistair Croll pointed out on O’Reilly that the number of different wearables is absurd, which is implicitly said to be the result of “far too much specialisation”, with wearables in their entirety “trying to blanket the human life.”
There are many home security devices, too, that probably won’t all last the distance either. However, wearables might risk being rejected permanently by some consumers due the niche nature of these early products. Overall, home security devices are generally less niche and as such more visibly useful, which will be important in selling them widely.
The most obvious security concern is that these devices could be vulnerable to hacking and thus make your home vulnerable to attack. The most obvious refute to it is that burglars are generally unlikely to be very tech-savvy, and that as such devices roll out more widely, we’re going to see lots of evidence that security is a high development priority.
A concern held by Professor Kamin Whitehouse, an associate professor at the University of Virginia, is, according to Technology Review, that potential burglars might be able to learn useful information for burglary. This is because they could be able to recognise and take advantage of household activity by tapping into data traffic. This is as unlikely as controlling devices, though, as burglars would probably be put off by the arduous nature of the task and the salient likelihood that more reliable, clear results could be gained through physical observation.
The security debate looks like it won’t be ending any time soon, but to not consider them them based on theory about their security would be a kneejerk reaction. Technology is rarely foolproof and there are more pros and cons that can argued, but home automation seems to have benefits that outweigh the negatives.
Whatever the views on such devices, the seemingly endless hype around the Internet of Things looks like it could be finally leading to results. IHS Technology, a leading research company, believes that it will “transform the world over the next five years.” This potential is arguably reflected in its continuing rise as a discussion point, according to searches on Google.
CES didn’t bring notable innovations in terms of home security, but it has displayed to the wider world the user friendly design of modern home automation devices. The security risks are up for you to judge but, even if you are concerned, most of these developments are meant to be used in conjunction with more lo-tech security methods. However, if the rise of home automation keeps going, consumers won’t likely be waiting long for even better, more refined products.
