Ring - Experts & Thought Leaders

The Board of Directors of the Global Life Safety Alliance has approved a new slate of officers: President, Michael Gips Vice President, George Strom Treasurer, George Bish The demise of Jack O’Brien The GLSA also acknowledges the recent and unexpected passing of Jack O’Brien. Jack was a founding member of the Global Life Safety Alliance. Jack was the initial Vice President, later acting as the CEO of the organization until his untimely passing.  Jack has served the security industry for decades as the COO of Ackerman’s Security; VP of Security Networks; Director of North American Services for Siemens; Director of SecurityLink from Ameritech; the Director of Rollins Protective Services; General Manager of ADT Fire and Security, and the GM of Wells Fargo Alarm Services.  Jack’s International Consulting firm and his decades of industry service added to GLSA’s knowledge and expertise of the industry and lent great value to the GLSA. He is sadly missed by our organisation and will be missed by his many friends and associates in the security industry. Past-president, Julio Fumagalli Macrae The GLSA thanks Julio Fumagalli Macrae, its recent past president, for his contributions to the alliance from its time of inception to the present. Julio is the President of IRIS – Instituto Rector de la Industria dela Seguridad. He works and lives in Argentina, and he has accepted the position of GLSA’s Director of Education moving forward.  Julio has enhanced organisational effectiveness, led change initiatives, and developed creative solutions Julio brings a wide-ranging professional experience and a strong team approach that benefits his clients and partners in the United States, Canada, Argentina, and elsewhere in South America. Julio has enhanced organisational effectiveness, led change initiatives, and developed creative solutions and strategies for his clients. He has led inter-cultural environmental initiatives with a style and vision that integrates global, regional, and local issues. Michael Gips,President  Michael Gips, JD, CPP, CSyP, CAE, is a security professional, attorney, writer, and business executive. He is the principal of Global Insights in Professional Security, where he consults for security executives and security firms alike. Previously he served as the Chief Global Knowledge and Learning Officer for ASIS International, where he oversaw Learning, Content, Certification, Standards & Guidelines, Production, and other departments. Work experience He developed the CSO Roundtable (now CSO Center) as a membership group within ASIS. He also served as editor and publisher of Security Management, where he authored hundreds of articles. Mike is also a senior advisor for Cardinal Point Strategies, a senior advisor for the Network Contagion Research Institute, and a Partner in the Knowledgebase of Insider Threats. He is also an associate with the Netherlands-based insider risk firm Signpost Six and serves on the advisory boards of several organisations. Research publications, columns Mike frequently presents on security and legal topics on topics such as disinformation, insider threat Among his many research publications are papers and reports on ESRM (2010), the security sector (2012, 2014), convergence (2019), blockchain (2020), business continuity and Covid (2021), and a forthcoming article on security professionalisation co-authored with Dr. Alison Wakefield (2022). Mike writes a monthly leadership column for Security magazine and regularly contributes to Security Management, International Security Journal, and other publications. He frequently presents on security and legal topics at conferences and webinars, on topics such as disinformation, insider threat, trends in access control, and security skillsets. Recognitions Mike has received many commendations, including Outstanding U.S. Security Consultant (OSPAs, 2022), sixth most influential security thought leader (IFSEC, 2021), and one of the most influential people in security (Security magazine, 2019). He has received more than a dozen awards for his writing. Mike heads the security committee for a large house of worship. He is on the committee that is updating ASIS’s CSO standard, and he previously helped develop ASIS’s ESRM guideline. Education He also mentors many young professionals. Mike is a graduate of Tufts University (Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude) and Harvard Law School.  Mike also has obtained security certificates from R.L. Oatman & Associates (2006), Wharton (2015), Tel Aviv University International (2016), and IE Business School (2017). George Strom; Vice President George has worked with alarms, detectors, controls, or PPE and manufacturers globally George Strom is Business Development Director of IOT at Intertek, an FTSE 100 Company. George has worked with alarms, detectors, controls, or personal protective equipment and manufacturers globally to help them meet all their assurance, testing, inspection, and certification needs. George’s 25+ years in the Quality Assurance & Safety arena bring insight into the unique challenges of launching a product in today’s Connected World. Before Intertek, George worked in Sales and Marketing within the Computer & Office Automation Industry. He is a proud alumnus of U-Mass Lowell and lives in the Greater Boston Area. George Bish; Treasurer George is the vice president of Ring Protect, a division of Amazon. George is a NICET Level IV and Licensed Security Qualified Agent, in VA, NC, SC, TN, AL, GA, TX, FL, WA, AK, MS, and Licensed Electrical in NC, GA, MD, WA, ESA National Training School Senior Instructor (NTS), Virginia Certified Instructor, Texas Certified Instructor. Work experience George is an active professional sitting on SIA Data Privacy Advisory Board He is an active professional sitting on the SIA Data Privacy Advisory Board and a member from 2019 to present, on the NFPA 72 Chapter 29 Household from 2018 to present, NFPA 70 Technical Committee Panel member from 2008 to present, NFPA 730/731 Technical Committee member 2007 to present, on the ESA Standards & Fire Committee member, ESA By-Laws Committee member, ESA Education Committee member, Security Industry Standards Council Committee member, Past Treasurer and Executive Committee member of ESA, Past President, Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary of NCBFAA. Awards and recognition George has received the 2016 SBCA Presidents Award, 2015 ESA Sara E Jackson Award, 2000 NCBFAA Special Instructor’s Award, 1997 NCBFAA Person of the Year, 1996 NCBFAA President’s Award, 1996 NCBFAA Outstanding Service in Continuing Education Award, and the 1995 NCBFAA President's Award. Global Life Safety Alliance The Global Life Safety Alliance is educationally-based, focused on leadership, executive and business management, shared global risks, practices, policies, and standards of operations around the globe.  The Alliance represents a combination of security experts and professionals from the many different divisions of the Life Safety Industry, such as international and national corporations, publishers, associations, thought leaders, and knowledgeable professionals. 

The 2021 Electronic Security Expo (ESX), presented by Electronic Security Association (ESA), releases the full educational line-up for its upcoming virtual experience, which will take place online from June 15-17. In addition to the main stage presentations and virtual networking opportunities, the three-day virtual event includes 24+ educational sessions across four tracks, designed specifically for security professionals. Specific business challenge In keeping with the event’s theme, ‘Security Inspired,’ sessions will touch on new technologies and services that empower one and the team to grow their business and remain competitive. Attendees who are looking to address a specific business challenge or opportunity can look to the Solution Sets – a collection of sessions that are tailor-made to deliver relevant insights and actionable guidance that take the business to the next level, including: Sales growth Video monitoring The future is now Customer experience Employee focus Financial performance Process optimisation Best possible program Changing competitive landscape The ESX 2021 virtual experience program includes more than 46 speakers representing the entire electronic security and life safety ecosystem from companies, such as Alarm.com, ADT, Bosch Security and Safety Systems, CPI, Loud Security, Rapid Response Monitoring Services, Ring, Stanley Security, and many more. "We're excited to bring our community together next month for best practise and idea sharing, anchored by a stellar speaker and session lineup," said George De Marco, Chairman, ESX. "Now more than ever, it is imperative for security professionals to take advantage of opportunities that drive growth and profitability, improve the customer experience, and prepare them for the future. ESX is focused on providing the best possible program for our community and we're confident that they'll walk away energised and inspired ready to take on today’s changing competitive landscape."

On a quiet road south of Ventura Boulevard, two cameras on a pole watch over the road, facing opposite directions. A block away, another brace of cameras sit sentry. Together, they constantly film the two points of entry to a closed loop of public streets in Sherman Oaks. Nearby, on a dual-screen setup in the basement of his hillside home, Robert Shontell pulls up hundreds of snippets of footage captured by the cameras earlier that day. Each shows a car, time-stamped and tagged with the make, model, paint colour and licence plate. Machine vision software He searches for a silver Honda spotted between the hours of 1 and 2 p.m. After some scrolling, a shot of my car — and me — pops up. “The most surprising thing is just how many cars drive through the neighbourhood each day,” Shontell says. And every one ends up filmed by the motion-activated cameras, then tagged and entered in the database by the machine vision software powering the system. The most surprising thing is just how many cars drive through the neighbourhood each day" Residents of the neighbourhood had pooled their money to rent these cameras, and the software behind them, from Flock Safety — an Atlanta-based company that has found clients for its automatic licence plate readers in safety-conscious communities, homeowners’ associations and local police departments across 30 states. Tracking every vehicle The company’s pitch: With its cameras, residents can track every vehicle that passes through their neighbourhood. If a burglar strikes, they can check and see which cars were spotted in the area around the time of the crime, and pass that footage on to police. To allay privacy concerns, only the residents have access to the footage, and it automatically deletes after 30 days. Costs vary depending on the client, but Flock generally charges $2,000 per camera per year for the service, and reports that more than 400 communities are using its product. It’s backed by serious Silicon Valley investment: The company was a member of prominent start-up accelerator Y Combinator’s summer class of 2017 and has since raised nearly $20 million in funding from tech heavyweights including Matrix Partners and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. Solving two crimes The company said it couldn’t share details of every case but did note that the technology was integral “Our cameras are helping solve two crimes every single day right now,” said Josh Thomas, Flock’s Head of Marketing. The company said it couldn’t share details of every case but did note that the technology was integral to a recent arrest of a ring of 24 sexual predators in north Georgia, and local media outlets report a steady drumbeat of burglaries and car thefts that Flock helped to solve. “If we can reach further scale and put out more detective-like cameras on every street corner, we can solve more crime.” Flock’s push to put a camera on every corner comes at a time when smart cameras and social media are combining to create a newly paranoid model of neighbourhood life. The message boards on Nextdoor, a social service that requires users to verify their addresses to ensure that only true locals are allowed to post, are rife with reports of suspicious noises, cars and people. Facial recognition technology Footage from Ring, a video doorbell company, often ends up on Nextdoor or shared on its in-house social network, Neighbours. Recent reporting from Motherboard has revealed that local police have signed secret agreements to hawk Ring systems to their local communities, and BuzzFeed found that the company is testing out facial recognition technology with its clients in Ukraine. Recent reporting from Motherboard has revealed that local police have signed secret agreements Licence plate reader technology, which has been used by the Los Angeles Police Department and agencies across the state for years, has raised concerns among privacy advocates, and the state of California is investigating the legality of its use in law enforcement. Security camera systems “Licence plate readers have been recognised by the Legislature and lots of police departments — and certainly civil liberty groups — as technology that can violate people’s privacy by tracking their movements without their consent,” said David Maass, Senior Investigative Researcher with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital civil liberties nonprofit. The leap from traditional security camera systems to those powered by machine vision, like automatic licence plate readers, is as vast as the difference between an analogue library and the modern internet. Before, a human would have to pore over hours of footage from multiple cameras to try to piece together a car’s movement through a neighbourhood, let alone an entire city. Now, the software can instantly spit out a list of all sightings, effectively creating a shot-by-shot map of a car’s whereabouts. Facial recognition software A licence plate reader spotted a car on the freeway listed as stolen in a state database And while the technology is more accurate than its machine vision cousin, facial recognition software, false positives remain a risk. Last year in Contra Costa County, a licence plate reader spotted a car on the freeway listed as stolen in a state database. Police pulled the car over, approached with guns drawn, handcuffed the driver and his passenger, and forced them to kneel on the pavement at gunpoint, believing them to be dangerous. But the stolen car database was out of date — the car was a rental and had been reported stolen, then recovered, earlier in the year. Outcry over incidents like this prompted state legislators in 2015 to pass a law regulating how public agencies can use automatic licence plate readers, but recent pushback from privacy advocates, backed by research indicating that law enforcement may not be following the law, prompted the state auditor to launch a probe into the technology’s use in June. Receiving same training Flock’s extension of the same technology into the private sphere raises another set of concerns: Private citizens are unlikely to receive the same training, or be subject to the same oversight, as public employees. A neighbourhood administrator could easily search local Flock records to track a spouse’s whereabouts. Flock’s extension of the same technology into the private sphere raises another set of concerns And while the onus is currently on Flock clients to send their footage to police to assist in an investigation, there’s little stopping police, once they know cameras are in place, from requesting footage from Flock users to track anyone who passes through the area — a practice that’s already common with Ring video. Local law enforcement “Our customers are the ones who own all the footage. We don’t access it, we don’t share it with third parties, we don’t sell it. They can share that with their local law enforcement in the event of the crime if they choose,” said Flock’s Thomas. “It would be a breach of contract if they were to use it for other nefarious purposes,” he added. “We would end our contract and take it back,” though he noted that with no access to a client’s account, the company has no way to monitor the systems for abuse. Having real evidence Shontell said that he and his neighbours started looking into the company after a series of break-ins Shontell said that he and his neighbours started looking into the company after a series of break-ins on their street, having heard about it from friends who live in a nearby hillside neighbourhood, and decided to install the cameras earlier this summer. As a career film and TV editor, he volunteered to be one of the technical administrators for the system. During the setup process, users can add a list of residents’ plates, to avoid mistaking a neighbour for an interloper. Those with a direct line to the system administrators can also request that footage of their cars not be logged in the system. Shontell said that the neighbourhood group went door to door to let every household know they were installing the cameras, but there’s no legal requirement that they do so. Advanced search criteria Flock also records footage of cyclists and pedestrians moving past its cameras. Users can search in those broad categories by time, scrolling through a list of every person who walked or biked by, but the more advanced search criteria only work for cars. The interface also has a ‘dog’ category, which largely consists of clips of people walking their dogs. The street has been crime-free so far, but Shontell said his neighbours — many of whom have private cameras or Ring systems for their own homes — feel safer with a belt-and-suspenders approach to neighbourhood security. “We can tell who’s coming and going 24/7. Some people might have an issue with that,” Shontell said. “I tend to think personally that what you might give up in terms of privacy is overshadowed by what you gain: possibly having some real evidence to give the police.”

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 impact of this event for the smart home could be about delivering home analytics and enhancing privacy" Smart home market on the forefront The smart home market is a major focus. “For the smart home market at CES this year, we expect to see numerous announcements regarding home awareness,” says Blake Kozak, Senior Principal Analyst at IHS Markit. “This will include brands offering up additional analytics for consumer security cameras with a focus on edge-based solutions.” “The impact of this [event] for the smart home could be about delivering home analytics and enhancing privacy through cloudless architectures and new electronic door lock approaches,” he adds. An example of cloud analytics is the Resideo Home app, introduced in December, which will make whole-home monitoring possible for four critical networks of the home – water, air, energy and security. Resideo promises a “simplified and integrated smart home experience.” Video is also prominent at the show. “For cameras, we can expect to see more cameras focused on the outdoor space and possibly new form factors for video doorbells,” says Kozak. Familiar security industry brands exhibiting at CES 2020 include ADT, Ring, August Home and Yale (both part of ASSA ABLOY), Bosch and Alarm.com. Focus on Cybersecurity In 2020, companies will continue to focus on solutions for protecting consumer data" Cybersecurity is an aspect of many of the devices on display at CES. “Device security and data privacy play a key role in the adoption of connected devices,” says Elizabeth Parks, President, Parks Associates. “Consumer security concerns for smart home products will continue to be a barrier to adoption in the U.S. and Europe, and these concerns can actually intensify with device adoption-71% of U.S. smart home households are concerned about cybersecurity. In 2020, companies will continue to focus on solutions for protecting consumer data. One big area of interest is protection on the network router, providing whole home solutions, which are very appealing to consumers.” “At CES we will see the traditional players introducing new DIY (do-it-yourself) products, as well as new players announcing new product features, services, and partnerships,” Parks adds. Smart access control Smart locks will be among the security products at CES 2020. For example, PassiveBolt, a lock company, will show the Shepherd Lock, a touch-enabled smart lock with enhanced security through sensors and AI. The add-on lock converts existing locksets into touch-activated devices. Another lock manufacturer is Kwikset, whose door locks and door hardware include Wi-Fi-enabled smart locks, Bluetooth-enabled smart locks, keyless and keyway-less locks and connected home technology. Video doorbells, including industry-innovator Ring, have been a hit in the consumer market. At CES, Ring will expand the mission to make neighbourhoods safer by creating a “Ring of Security” around homes and communities with a suite of home security products and services. The “Neighbors by Ring” app enables affordable, complete, proactive home and neighbourhood security. Homeguard offers a range of affordable CCTV solutions for home and small business DIY CCTV demonstrations DIY security systems are another market. Homeguard is a leading DIY consumer brand offering a range of affordable CCTV solutions for home and small business, including wired and wireless CCTV kits, smart cameras, home alarm systems and wire-free HD CCTV kits. Swann Communications is also at the forefront of surveillance and monitoring with new products developments including wire-free HD cameras and doorbells, professional CCTV video surveillance systems, and 1080p full HD systems with “True Detect” heat and motion sensing. AVTECH, and subsidiary YesGo Tech, will demonstrate a compact Wi-Fi home security set, a series of special cameras with face recognition, thermal detection and license plate recognition, customised central management software and a university ID tag that is compatible with access control, OEM and ODM opportunities. Security and automation solutions D-Link’s home networking, security and automation solutions will help consumers connect, view, share, entertain, work and play. SECO-LARM, manufacturer of a Room Occupancy Monitor that shows whether a room is in use, has a line of keypads and proximity readers with built-in Bluetooth for convenient access. Another smart home security solutions provider, Climax Technology, integrates wireless security, home automation, energy management, home emergency monitoring and live visual monitoring. Personal safety mobile application Manufacturers are positioning outdoor cameras as deterrents to theft before a burglary happens" WaryMe designs and develops a personal safety mobile application to improve a user’s security in public places, schools, transports and companies by addressing major risks such as terrorism attacks, intrusion, fire and even industrial accidents. An all-in-one mobile application integrates alerting, crisis management and mass notification features. “Market players are looking to expand beyond established smart home devices like smart thermostats and networked cameras to products like smart water leak detectors, smart pet feeders, and smart air purifiers,” says Elizabeth Parks. “Manufacturers are positioning outdoor cameras as deterrents to theft before a burglary happens. This trend is part of a broader security marketing effort to extend the perimeter of home security beyond traditional home access points.” “Familiarity with smart home devices lags behind familiarity with smart entertainment products; it even lags that of smart speakers, which are quite new in the market,” adds Parks. “In 2020, we will see players working to advance the visibility and marketing around device integration, and specifically focus on use case scenarios around safety, security, and convenience, which have always been the primary drivers of adoption of these types of products.”

A few friends from the security industry will gather this April to see, hear and touch the latest technologies to make the world a safer place. Actually, more than a few: there will be more than 30,000 security professionals gathering at the Sands Expo in Las Vegas April 11-13 for the International Security Conference and Exposition, usually known as ISC West. Many of the attendees will be returning to what has become a yearly ritual. The site, the players, the pace and even atmosphere of ISC West are as familiar to many as a family reunion. But the industry is changing, and those changes will be reflected in big ways at ISC West. Let’s consider a few themes we will be hearing about at the show.  The cybersecurity of physical security systems Cybersecurity has gone from being the “elephant in the room” to an existential crisis for the physical security industry: How can an industry promote security unless its own products and systems can operate securely? For a long time, no one talked about cybersecurity. Some attending ISC West may wonder if now we are talking about it too much, at the risk of too much talk and not enough action. Almost every contribution to our “review and forecast” articles for 2018 mentioned cybersecurity. Every industry event I have attended so far this year has put cybersecurity front and centre. It will certainly be a major topic at ISC West.Cybersecurity has gone from being the “elephant in the room” to an existential crisis for the physical security industry Here’s the challenge for attendees to ISC West: If every manufacturer talks earnestly about cybersecurity, how can potential customers tell who is really serious about the topic, and who is merely paying lip service to the latest industry buzzword? If we all agree that cybersecurity is “everyone’s problem” – not just manufacturers, but also integrators and users – does no one really take responsibility? As the industry becomes more educated about cybersecurity, we can expect more detailed and challenging questions on the subject to permeate the ISC West show floor. Some manufacturers have likened cybersecurity more broadly to the issue of trust. Do you trust a manufacturer to address cybersecurity issues? Or do you trust them in general? The cybersecurity discussions will begin even before the show floor opens, on Tuesday, April 10, in a session titled “Cybersecurity Tier Zero: A Guide to the First Steps of Cyber Hardening.” – just one of the many other education sessions on Tuesday. The emergence of video analytics 2.0 Deep learning and artificial intelligence (AI) have become more familiar to the physical security market, and some AI applications are driving new industry trends such as robotics and analysing Big Data. But the biggest potential impact of deep learning is in the field of video analytics, a decades-old technology that has perpetually overpromised and underdelivered. The video analytics systems are not programmed, they “learn,” using massive data sets and neural networks and GPU processors and all the rest The new wave of video analytics products claims to provide a higher level of accuracy because they operate more like the human brain. These new systems are not programmed, they “learn,” using massive data sets and neural networks and GPU processors and all the rest. But consider the bottom line: Do the new video analytics products really perform and eliminate excessive false alarms? Can they effectively search large amounts of stored video and find the few frames that can make the difference in an investigation? Months have lapsed since the first deep learning products were announced - or, at least, “teased”. It’s been sufficient time for manufacturers to develop products that are ready for market, but are they? ISC West attendees will be scouring the booths for the latest developments and asking tough questions about how well these newfangled systems will actually perform.It’s all happening in the smart home market – but how fast and what will be the impact on the traditional burglar alarm business The changing smart home market We all want Siri to set our thermostat or Cortana to arm the alarm system. We want to view video from our nanny-cams on our smart phones, and to turn on the lights from anywhere around the world. It’s all happening in the smart home market – but how fast and what will be the impact on the traditional burglar alarm business that is the bread-and-butter of many security companies? Bluetooth and Wi-Fi can make a lot of things happen in the smart home environment, but what about other networking standards such as ZigBee and Z-Wave? The stakes are huge, which is why the big tech companies – from Apple to Amazon to Google – are staking their claims in the home automation market. Just this year, Amazon has purchased Ring, a video doorbell and security camera company – which will also be exhibiting at ISC West. But it’s unclear what such moves in Silicon Valley will mean for traditional security companies. The growth of do-it-yourself (DIY) systems introduces even more variables, as do alarm companies with new business models and even cloud-based approaches. Many exhibitors at ISC West – from ADT to Z-Wave – are addressing the new smart home environment and can help those attending the show do the same. About 40 companies are exhibiting in the “Connected Home” arena.  The Unmanned Security and Safety Expo will return, including a dedicated complimentary education theatre for attendees Drones, robotics and education From robots to drones to counter-drone solutions, there other new technologies being displayed at ISC West. The Unmanned Security and Safety Expo will return, including a dedicated complimentary education theatre for attendees offering sessions on topics such as “Drones – Friends or Foes to the Security Industry?”  There is a level of novelty to these technologies, and attendees might be lured by the entertainment value of a subject that may fall outside their job description. But one education session addresses the nuts and bolts in the real world: “Selling the Value of Security Robots by Setting Realistic Expectations.” Could these new gadgets play a bigger role than we think in the future of the security market?  For all its familiarity, there is always something new for attendees at ISC West. It may be a startup company with an intriguing value proposition tucked into a tiny booth at the back of the hall. Or it could be a big surprise news announcement from a major player. For attendees, the best surprise of all is that valuable piece of information they can take home to make their business better. Here’s hoping you find it!

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 contrast, ISC West has some 1,000 exhibitors. During the week-long show welcoming 170,000-plus attendees from 150 countries, more than 20,000 new products are being launched. The products incorporate ingredient technologies such as artificial intelligence and 5G that will also be familiar elements as the future of the security industry unfolds. Familiar players at security shows also have a presence at CES, and many consumer technologies on display offer a glimpse of what’s ahead for security The areas of consumer electronics and security are closely intertwined. For example, Apple recently expanded near-field communication (NFC) support to include the NDEF (NFC Data Exchange Format), which will likely accelerate the adoption of smartphones for access control credentialing. In another recent development, Amazon acquired Blink, a home security camera startup that offers wireless home security systems. The acquisition aligns with Amazon’s effort to offer more home devices. Key security technologies at CES 2018 Familiar players at security shows also have a presence at CES. For example, Bosch is highlighting its “Simply. Connected” portfolio of smart city technology to transform security as well as urban mobility, air quality and energy efficiency. Many consumer technologies on display offer a glimpse of what’s ahead for security. Are Panasonic’s 4K OLEDs with HDR10+ format or Sony’s A8F OLED televisions a preview of the future of security control room monitors? At CES, Johnson Controls is announcing support for Apple HomeKit now offered in their DSC iotega wireless security and automation solution. Consumers can manage both their security system and also other home automation abilities using Apple’s Home app, or Siri on their iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch. Interlogix is announcing new features and components of its UltraSync SmartHome system, including hands-free voice control, high-definition cameras, an LTE cellular module and soon-to-be-released doorbell camera. The areas of consumer electronics and security are closely intertwined Developments in crime awareness ADT has a high profile at CES, including the launch of its ADT Go mobile app, equipped with 24/7 emergency response from ADT’s live monitoring agents and backed by Life360’s location technology, providing emergency response, family connectivity, safety assistance and crime awareness.  ADT is also unveiling a video doorbell and expanding its monitoring to cybersecurity. IC Realtime is introducing Ella, a cloud-based deep-learning search engine that augments surveillance systems with natural language search capabilities across recorded video footage. Ella enables any surveillance or security cameras to recognise objects, colours, people, vehicles and animals. Ella was designed using the technology backbone of Camio, a startup founded by ex-Googlers who designed a simpler way to apply searching to streaming video feeds. It’s a “Google for video:” Users can type in queries such as “white truck” to find every relevant video clip. Smarter homes and smarter computers Do-it-yourself smart home security company Abode Systems announces iota, an all-in-one system giving customers more freedom and flexibility to build out and monitor their smart home. The new form factor has a built-in full-HD resolution camera enabling customers to see and hear what’s going on in their home 24/7 while a built-in gateway supports hundreds of devices to make homes more convenient, safer and more secure. There is also support for Apple HomeKit. Highly programmable and high-performance platforms will no doubt play a role in the future of video surveillance systems in our market  The Z-Wave Alliance will host 30-plus leading smart home brands in the Z-Wave pavilion at CES. A full walk-through home will demonstrate different brands working together to create one cohesive smart home experience. Sigma Designs unveils its 700-Series Z-Wave platform, including numerous performance and technology enhancements in energy-efficiency and RF performance. Personal protection in attendance Self-defence product company SABRE will debut a combination pepper spray with dual sound-effect personal alarm that “alternates between the traditional wailing sound and a primal scream, while a strobe blinks 19 times per second to disorient assailants.” SABRE’s Modern Fake Security Camera includes “sleek, realistic design to deter would-be thieves.” Chip maker Ambarella is introducing the CV1 4K Stereovision Processor with CFflow Computer Vision Architecture. The chip combines environmental perception with advances in deep neural network processing for a variety of applications, including video security cameras and fully autonomous drones. At CES, applications will focus on automotive uses, including advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), self-driving, electronic mirror and surround view systems. The highly programmable and high-performance platform will no doubt play a role in the future of video surveillance systems in our market. A full walk-through home will demonstrate different brands working together to create one cohesive smart home experience Extending home security and efficiency  The Ring whole-house security ecosystem creates a “Ring of Security” around homes and neighbourhoods. Products include “Stick Up” indoor/outdoor security cameras, integrated LED lighting, a “Ring Alarm” integrated bundle for $199 including a base station, keypad, contact sensor, and Z-Wave extender. “Ring Protect Plans” include 24/7 professional monitoring. The “Streety” phone app, from Vivint Smart Home, extends home security into the neighbourhood. Streety makes it easy for neighbours to monitor neighbourhood activity through a network of shared residential cameras. They can keep an eye on kids, cars and property through live video feeds and use recorded video clips to investigate incidents. A new device making its debut at CES is the Walker “commercialised biped robot,” from UBTECH Robotics, which provides a complete home butler service and is designed to ease the day-to-day operations of a busy home or office. The varied of functions includes video surveillance monitoring, security patrol monitoring, motion detection and “instant alarm,” as well as dancing and playing games with children. The company says Walker will “bridge the gap between technologies that were once only available in scientific research institutions and everyday people.”