HIS flying ‘guard dogs’ on horizon
Guard dogs or guard drones —pretty soon homeowners will be able to choose.
How you protect your home may completely change by the end of the year or early 2018, Scott Brockamp said recently.
Brockamp and Doug Fraker are owners of HIS Security, 11426 Kingston Pike, Farragut. The store is an authorized dealer for Alarm.com, so Brockamp said he wasn’t surprised when the company unveiled its new home security drones at the yearly Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas several weeks ago.
The idea behind the drone is that instead of having your dog bark at a strange noise, your drone will perk its “ears” up and fly into action.
According to a January Alarm.com article by Lora Kolodny, “Lots of companies are designing drones to monitor the perimeter of a home or commercial site from on high. But most aren't building them to fly indoors. Alarm.com is developing a system that enables drones to fly wherever unusual people or activities are detected, inside or outdoors.”
“You put different detectors throughout the property,” Brockamp said. “When those are activated, the drone would fly to that area and see what caused that disturbance. A lot of systems send a video of the action straight to your phone or tablet.”
Brockamp doesn’t have any security drones for sale yet because they’re still being developed and approved, he said.
“What we have already seen is the security alarm industry is embracing the technology,” he said. “Alarm.com is the software service provider for the smart home service we offer. There’s been some anticipation that by the end of the year or the first of next year, there will be something operational, depending on if the government allows it.
“I think what I see more than anything is that as more and more drones enter into the marketplace and the price comes down and as more people have them and fail to register with the FAA, the government will have to step in and put stricter guidelines on drones.”
Anybody can buy a drone online or in a store, Brockamp said.
But users are supposed to register it with the FAA. “At this point it’s left up to the individual to make that registration,” he added.
HIS Security is intent on being on the leading edge of all kinds of technology.
“We’re beta testers for Nortek 2Gig Security and Alarm.com,” Brockamp said. “When new products are released, we test them out.”
HIS Security has tested products including video doorbells, new smart devices, new door locks, new video cameras and overhead garage door remote controllers.
How many people have home security systems?
“Statistically, we’re up to about a 30 percent of homes that have systems,” Brockamp said.
HIS Security’s least expensive system is $250 for a smart home security system, with a $47 monthly monitoring fee. “One of the things that make us unique is that we customize a solution for your situation,” he said.
HIS Security has been in business for seven years and moved to the Farragut location in June.
