How Artificial Intelligence is Transforming Home Security

Artificial intelligence is transforming many areas of life and work, not least home security courtesy of its innate ability to recognise specific people, detect out of the ordinary sounds and filter out unusual behaviours. Here we take a closer look at how ‘AI’ is making home security devices smarter, and why it’s set to become the future of the industry.

What is artificial intelligence?

Artificial intelligence is a powerful phenomenon. It imitates the knowledge and learning abilities of humans, making everyday tasks easier and, in some cases, taking away the need to even think about certain things.

AI makes it possible to connect multiple IoT (Internet of Things) devices, bringing in superior processing and learning abilities, and using them to pre-empt human behaviour. IoT devices may be sensors, cameras, alarms and voice controllers, for example.

AI-powered smart home devices can interact with each other, harvesting data that assists in learning human habits. This data is used to predict user behaviour and develop situational awareness, for example understanding user preferences, and making changes accordingly.

Artificial intelligence-driven home automation systems learn human behavioural patterns, often in as little as 48 hours, and then set actions according to how people live their lives. Turning off lights and switching on security cameras and intruder alarms when the front door is locked from the outside, and activating the heating when it’s detected that the homeowner has returned or at the time they are usually expected are just a few examples.

But AI has taken things much further, now having the ability to recognise individuals and adjust the likes of heating and lighting to suit personal preferences. There are even AI-powered smart smoke alarms that pinpoint the source of smoke and relay the information via a smartphone app.

Artificial intelligence and CCTV

One particular area of security in which AI is making waves is CCTV.

Security cameras are great at detecting motion, which is valuable if there is an intruder, but not so if there’s a parcel delivery, for example. Tree branches waving in the wind, passing wildlife, pets and other harmless occurrences can trigger motion sensors which can lead to unwanted alerts and false alarms.

The good news is that artificial intelligence is changing all of this. Using historical data to identify trends, AI makes decisions based on what it has seen in the past, and hones the alerts sent by the home security system in line with those trends.

It can also consider external factors, for example weather conditions, that are fed into the system via internet-based data. So if it is a particularly windy day, and the sensors are working overtime sending alerts left, right and centre, the AI will detect this and tone things down.

Detecting abnormal activity

Artificial intelligence is also very good at determining abnormal activity. This could be, for example, a suspicious sound that would not normally be heard during particular times of the day, such as breaking glass or shouting. Such activity could trigger an alert or summon the emergency services, if a monitoring service was in place.

People recognition

AI makes it possible for smart CCTV cameras to recognise faces, and to detect someone new. The homeowner can train them to either accept or flag particular people.

Regular visitors such as friends, family and neighbours, can be put on a white list, as can cleaners or even for example a builder on a temporary basis, with the rest – anyone who is not recognised – set to trigger an alert.

Behaviour tracking

In a safety sense, artificial intelligence is incredibly useful in that it can analyse movement and predict things such as the likelihood of a fall in older homeowners, alerting carers for attention.

People’s everyday routines can be learnt by AI too, so the security system will get to know when property owners are generally out, and when they are normally home. This means it can hone its actions in line with occupancy, again reducing the volume of void alerts.

Embracing the security solutions of the future

Artificial intelligence in security may be a developing trend, and some of its more sophisticated abilities will no doubt take some time to experience widespread adoption. But at Barry Bros Security, by staying on top of trends like these, we can make sure that our customers have access to the very best solutions for their individual needs.

If you would like to learn more about how the latest security technologies could better safeguard your home, you are welcome to get in touch. Our experts are ready to provide you with the fully tailored advice you need to take your security solutions into the future.