Can Drones and IoT Work Together to Revolutionize the Home Security Space?
With smart homes continuing to grow in popularity, security systems could connect with drones in response to robberies or other activities.
Adobe Stock image by MAY
With the countless technological advances on the horizon, it is hard to stay on top of what’s new. Computing is advancing at a neck breaking speed, and even “new” smartphones are obsolete by the time they hit the market. Keeping up with the tech-savvy Joneses is close to impossible.
Two of the biggest game changers in the industry have been the development of drones and the Internet of Things (IoT).
For those unfamiliar, the acronym of IoT is defined by TechTarget as a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.
Everyone, of course, has their own opinions on the benefits and drawbacks of either (or both). But no one can argue the fact that they are here, and here to stay.
So the million-dollar question is: How can we use these two powerful technologies to their full potentials?
Is there a connection between the two? Could one augment the other? I believe there can most certainly be an alliance, and that we will see a lot more in the next few years.
Drones are already well on their way to seamlessly integrating themselves in your daily life. With the recent addition of commercial drone-specific regulations, we will see more corporations employing drones for operations like delivering packages, or assessing the safety of a building or parameter.
However, what about the IoT? For some reason, this technology seems to have garnered a lot less media attention; but don’t be fooled-this industry is hot! Things like Nest allow consumers to remotely tap right into their home — checking or changing the thermostat, turning on the security system or even turning off lights from anywhere on the globe (anywhere with WiFi, of course).
Let’s say you forgot to lock your door this morning, and there’s no way you can make it back to the house without being late for work. IoT technology could save you in this situation! Or perhaps you want to check up on Fido from the office to make sure he’s following everything from puppy training? It’s no problem, all thanks to IoT.
Though it would appear that a connection between drones and IoT seems like too much of a good thing, I argue it’s possible and that the security industry is well-positioned to make the first leap into this realm.
Undoubtedly, security systems have been getting smarter and smarter in the past few years, and smart homes help to deter even the most eager criminals. The next step in this evolution may be the incorporation of drones into those systems — trigger an alarm, and a drone takes off to capture perfect imagery of the offender’s face. Or perhaps the drone will follow the trespasser while they attempt to run and capture the license plate of the getaway vehicle.
This could also work the other way around. Imagine a homeowner – let’s call him Mr. Clooney – is worrying about drones being flown in his backyard. Perhaps these drones are being used to capture photos that he does not want to be taken. Here, a detection system in a smart home (incorporating the IoT) might trigger the security system to perform an action such as all of the shades closing automatically. Though, other uses of drones and IoT working in tandem might be automatic inspections of one’s home (roof, rain gutter, etc.) for damage.
If the consumer market follows in Amazon’s footsteps, we might eventually get to a point where a drone takes off automatically from the house to head to the supermarket if the refrigerator reports that you’re low on milk. One can only dream, right?
The possibilities are endless, and it will be very exciting to see where the industry will take us.
Related: Drone Helps Teen Track Down Family’s Stolen Boat
Bio: Andy Von Stauffenberg is the CEO of VStar Systems.
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