What's next in home security?

Fierce competition in the home security market will continue to breed new technologies and services that will improve the security and automation in your home. From cutting-edge Wi-Fi sensing technology and smarter surveillance cameras to the emergence of Matter, a universal standard that makes it easier to build a smart home, the home security market is continuing to evolve to the betterment of homeowners everywhere. This article will delve into the exciting technologies you can expect to see in home security systems in 2024.

Wi-Fi sensing will revolutionize motion detection

Of the new technologies emerging in the world of home security, perhaps none is more cutting-edge than Wi-Fi sensing. (1) This innovative technology combines the Wi-Fi waves your router broadcasts throughout your home with RADAR-sensing technology—enhancing your security system’s ability to detect intruders. As these waves weave around furniture, walls, ceiling, people, and pets to reach gaming consoles, TVs, and laptops, they’re able to pick up on very subtle movements.

Any movement that disrupts the connection between a wireless device and the router can trigger an alarm, alerting the homeowner to a potential intruder. Wi-Fi sensing sensitivity is adjustable, allowing you to filter out smaller moving animals and objects, such as the family dog or a ceiling fan, to eliminate false alarms. Unlike standard motion detectors that will only sense movement that’s in its line of sight, Wi-Fi sensing creates a bubble of security around your entire home that has very few blind spots.

This technology is even sensitive enough to provide detailed health analysis. It can analyze how well you slept last night by recording and analyzing your tossing and turning or even changes in breathing patterns.

While Wi-Fi sensing is still very much in development, you can currently find it with some smart light bulbs and a few security systems, including Origin Wireless’ Hex Home Security, which uses a base station and Wi-Fi sensors to provide homewide motion detection. Verizon recently launched Home Awareness, which uses Wi-Fi sensing to let homeowners know if there’s unexpected movement in their home. (2) Expect more and more security companies to roll out services that use Wi-Fi sensing as the technology becomes more mainstream.

While this level of feedback makes Wi-FI sensing an attractive technology, it also brings with it serious risks. Technology that can literally track your every movement and analyze that data to determine your habits and health data is certainly not something you want to fall into the hands of hackers. This puts the onus on security companies to protect your privacy by preventing hackers from being able to gain access to that information.

Home security systems will continue to get smarter

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology just keeps on making home security systems smarter and smarter and will continue to do so in 2024. Expect to see security systems that can identify friend from foe with facial and voice recognition, eliminating the need to punch in codes on a keypad or open an app to arm and disarm the system.

Security cameras using this technology will not only be able to identify when someone approaches the home, they will also be able to identify friends and family. Wyze and Nest already have facial recognition cameras on the market, and other companies are preparing launches.

While facial recognition technology is certainly an exciting addition to home security systems, it’s not without its problems. Face recognition lags behind other biometrics, including voice, fingerprint, and iris, in accuracy. (3) Most concerningly, this technology has accuracy issues when attempting to identify those with darker skin, particularly Black women, according to an assessment by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). (4)

In fact, this issue was serious enough that it prompted IBM, Amazon, and Microsoft to cease sales of facial recognition technology to police back in 2020. Such accuracy issues must be addressed before they can be applied to home security systems.

In addition to facial recognition, many home security systems are also gaining the ability to learn. These smart systems use machine learning to analyze your behavioral data and identify patterns. With this data, the system can send you a notification reminding you to arm it if you happen to forget and limit false alarms when someone returns home from work and forgets to disarm the system before opening the door.

Matter will usher in a new era of home automation

If you're one of the millions of homeowners who want a security system that doesn’t just protect your home from break-ins but also integrates seamlessly with a host of smart-home devices, then rejoice. Your savior is here.

Up until now, building a robust automated home system has been a challenge due to compatibility issues between devices from different manufacturers. Homeowners have generally been limited to the select smart locks, lights, and thermostats that are compatible with their home security system, making it difficult to build an extensive automated home.

That’s all about to change, thanks to the release of Matter 1.0 by the Connectivity Standards Alliance. (5)

This new open-source standard will allow web-connected devices from various manufacturers to communicate with each other—including Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant. In fact, most of the major brands in the business have signed on to support Matter 1.0, including Amazon, Apple, Arlo Technologies, Comcast, GE Lighting, Google, Samsung, LG Electronics, and a whole host of others. In short, Matter makes it much easier to custom-build a robust smart home.

Plus, if you’ve already invested a lot of money on smart home devices, don’t worry. You won’t be left offline. Many of the above companies have announced plans to add Matter to existing hardware through software updates. Plus, with broader compatibility, you can expect more brands to begin offering smart-home tech, bringing the cost of these devices down.

Security companies will beef up encryption to protect home networks

Home security systems have evolved over the years from standalone systems to central hubs for all smart home technology—commonly referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT). They can now link with a whole host of items that fall under the IoT heading, including smart locks, lights, garage door openers, virtual assistants, smart thermostats, and many other devices.

While the IoT may be making life more convenient for many homeowners, it also broadens their cyber footprint, making them more vulnerable to attack. Any device in the IoT chain that uses outdated security tech can be a weak link hackers can exploit.

Maintaining privacy is even more crucial as technologies such as the aforementioned Wi-Fi security allow security systems to track your habits and movements to become even more sophisticated.

No home security company wants to make the news for allowing one of their customers to become a victim, so they’re taking action. Expect to see most security companies adopting higher levels of encryption and security standards for their cameras, sensors, thermostats, and various other devices to protect their customers’ systems against hackers.

What does this look like specifically? Security companies are increasing or maintaining high levels of encryption for their cameras and other wireless hardware. Most of the major players, including ADT, SimpliSafe, Ring, and Cove, are either already offering two-factor authentication or are preparing to add it. Two-factor authentication requires you to enter a code texted to you on your phone or open a designated app in addition to entering a password. These companies are also adding tech to their devices that allow them to detect and report efforts to jam equipment.

Home security companies are also changing how they manage customer video footage. In the wake of the highly publicized camera footage breach involving an ADT technician (6) and a Ring data leak in July 2022, (7) most home security companies have also adopted strict practices for retaining and encrypting customer video footage to limit access to this content by its employees.

All of these efforts improve your security system’s ability to maintain your privacy while protecting your home from break-ins.

Expect more DIY home security options to choose from

The popularity of DIY security systems is booming, and for good reason. You can purchase this type of security system online or via retail outlets without the hassle of having to speak to a sales rep or schedule a professional installation. DIY systems offer more affordable hardware that’s very easy to install, and they generally don’t require the long contracts of professionally installed security systems. Plus, they have monitoring options that cost just a fraction of those offered by professionally installed companies.

The success of SimpliSafe, Ring, Wyze, and other companies that offer DIY security systems is causing other companies in the industry to begin rolling out their own DIY offerings. While Vivint continues only to offer professionally installed security systems, fellow high-end brand ADT has already branched out to DIY options and will continue to expand into the space. For example, ADT recently began offering flexible installations and no-contract options and will make some of its services available for sale online and at certain retail outlets. (8) Expect there to be more and more DIY security system options from existing players and newcomers alike.

Security robots will patrol your home

Yes, the robots are coming, and Amazon Ring will be the first major home security company to add one with the debut of its Astro robot. (9) Astro consists of a base that sits on two large wheels with a display that resembles an iPad. It patrols your home using sensors that allow it to navigate around objects. Astro can investigate noises that it detects and deliver messages or small objects to occupants in the home.

It can even perform simple tasks, which you can request via a smartphone. Wondering if you forgot to unplug that curling iron? Astro will roll to it and show you if it’s plugged in using its built-in video camera. Want to investigate a noise while you’re out? Astro is on it, providing video surveillance you can view from a smartphone. And, should Astro happen to find real trouble, it will set off your Ring alarm system.

Amazon launched its Astro robot in a very limited release this year and is looking to make a wider rollout next year after it works out all the kinks. While having a robot assistant in your home may pique your interest, keep in mind that this cutting-edge tech doesn’t come cheap. Astro is slated to cost around $1,500. There are other cheaper home security robots out there, including Moorebot Scout and Enabot EBO, but Astro is currently the only one that will integrate with a home security system.

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Cameras will get (even) smarter and more mobile

Moving cameras once reserved for enterprise security systems will also become more widely available for home use in 2024. These cameras offer a much broader range—typically 360 degrees horizontally and 220 degrees vertically—than a static surveillance camera, and some use AI that allows them to sense and track movement automatically. While these cameras already exist, expect prices for these once very expensive cameras to become much more affordable. Blink, for example, recently announced the release of a very affordable mount for the Blink Mini camera that gives you the ability to tilt and pan the camera from a smartphone.

Home security systems will offer more monitoring devices for seniors

While protecting one’s home from burglars is still a high priority for a security system, more and more companies are going beyond that goal to allow people to monitor the home’s inhabitants. Security companies such as ADT have unveiled features to make that easier, including wearables for seniors that detect when someone falls, triggering the security system to contact the monitoring service for help.

The aforementioned Wi-Fi sensing is so sensitive that it will also identify sudden abrupt movements (such as someone falling) making it an ideal medical alert solution for seniors who don’t require the use of wearable devices. Expect this type of technology to accompany many home security systems in the near future.

Conclusion

There are plenty of advancements in home security to look forward to in 2024 and beyond. We can expect to see our home security systems get smarter, thanks to the debut of a new security robot from Amazon, the integration of AI technology, and cameras that can recognize friends and family. Security systems will also be better able to integrate with smart homes thanks to the debut of and adoption of the Matter open-source standard.