Honeywell has launched a comprehensive Smart Home Security System designed with families in mind.
This platform features a high-definition camera, facial recognition, two-way audio, motion sensors, night vision and Amazon Alexa built in.
The smart home security market is an increasingly competitive space in which manufacturers have to appeal far beyond functionality. Trust, reliability and ease of use are just as important when allowing an entity to have eyes and ears in your home.
Honeywell is looking to separate itself from the multitude of vendors in the space with an all-in-one home security package and a reputation for reliability.
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Honeywell’s Smart Home Security System
At its heart is the self-installed camera base station, which has an integrated 1080p HD camera, 145-degree viewing, facial recognition and a two-way audio system. Along with the camera, the package includes indoor and outdoor sensors and motion viewers that alert the user when doors or windows are opened and can record video.
Every aspect is designed to be coordinated, customized and monitored directly through the smartphone app. Each component can be adjusted to suit a schedule, tied into location-based geofencing or told to work with event and scene triggers.
Push notifications can be set up through the accompanying app to alert the homeowner when, for example, a child has returned safely from school.
Audio and video self-monitoring is available directly through the app, and the Smart Home Security System can also send alerts inside the home with customizable lighting, sirens and video notifications through your app.
While the system comes with 24 hours of back-up cloud storage – presumably so you can record footage when away from home and watch it back later – the priority is security in real-time. There are three ways that this is enabled.
First is the most obvious: if you set the system to ‘Away’ and somehow your front door opens, an alarm will be triggered. Second, if one of the sensors detects motion where there shouldn’t be any, the base station will make sounds simulating people at home. Third, according to Honeywell, is the ability to have eyes and ears in your own home through a range of detectors and devices.
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Connecting platforms
One of Honeywell’s ambitions is for its security system to become the hub for all of the smart devices in the home. Amazon Alexa comes integrated into the base station, the system is compatible with IoT recipe platform IFTTT and also works with Z-Wave Plus to control smart lighting. Over the next year, Honeywell plans to offer a choice of voice assistants, including Siri and Google.
Ted Booth, Honeywell’s senior director of user experience design, believes that the system is the first to market of a product of this kind.
“We wanted to create a new kind of experience in security, one that’s built around awareness in the home and our digital-first lifestyles,” he said.
“We wanted to create something that wouldn’t lock a customer in but would actually be an expansive platform over time. It’s modular, scalable and adaptable. A bit like family life.”
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Launching on IndieGoGo
In an interesting step for an established company, Honeywell has decided to launch the Smart Home Security System on crowdfunding platform IndieGoGo.
Early adopters will receive a discount for with a pre-order, but the main aim is to “communicate with you [customers] directly, listening and learning so we can make a better product for everyone.”
In a statement, the company said: “We want to continue adding helpful features to our system for years to come. That’s why we’re not just looking for customers – we’re seeking collaborators. More than owning the latest in connected technology, your feedback will play a key role in deciding the system’s future functionality.”