When it comes to home security, most systems only activate once a break-in has already occurred. But what if you could stop intruders before they even step foot inside?
According to Worldmetrics.org, the average police response time in the U.S. is 11 minutes. And thieves know that they'll have time after a home alarm goes off to grab what they can before the police arrive. Having a security agent watching and verbally engaging with thieves can make the difference between a thief entering your home or fleeing the scene.
SimpliSafe’s Active Guard service, which is rolling out now to all SimpliSafe customers, combines AI-powered outdoor monitoring with live agent intervention to do exactly this.
I wrote about the Active Guard service when SimpliSafe beta-tested it earlier this year, and according to SimpliSafe, the results were overwhelmingly positive. It was the live agents’ ability to communicate that played a crucial role in deterring intruders before they could cause damage. “What was really compelling was the human component... a monitoring specialist coming online and trying to ward off potential intruders [and] actually avoiding bad things happening.” said Hooman Shahidi, Senior Vice President of Product for SimpliSafe.
Now that Active Guard is out of beta, I got a demo of the Active Guard service to see for myself how SimpliSafe’s U.S.-based call center handles potential intruders. Before an alert reaches the call center, the outdoor camera constantly scans for motion. When motion is detected, the first layer of AI – housed on the camera – determines whether it’s a person or something harmless, like a pet. If it’s a person, the AI sends the video to the monitoring center, where cloud-based AI analyzes whether the person is a neutral party, like a delivery person, or if the situation is potentially dangerous. Regardless of the AI’s findings, the live agent makes the final call. They can issue verbal warnings and sound a siren built into your outdoor security camera or contact authorities as needed.
Of course, you and your friends and family don't want to be identified as potential intruders whenever you approach your home. So, you can enroll the faces of household members and frequent visitors so the system can recognize these people as friendlies and not threats.
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If you want to enroll in Active Guard, you'll need to purchase SimpliSafe's new Outdoor Security Camera Series 2 ($199). It's a wired HD camera with a 140-degree field of view and 10x digital zoom. It features enhanced dual microphones and a speaker to ensure clear communication when agents speak with people approaching your home. The wired camera can sound a 90dB siren and has improved night vision to capture activity and details better in low-light conditions up to 15 feet away.
Beyond preventing break-ins, SimpliSafe’s Active Guard can reduce false alarms and unnecessary calls to the police. Over 90% of alarms are false, according to The Monitoring Association. So, preventing them can save first responder resources and avoid fines in areas that assess fees for false alarms.
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SimpliSafe offers two outdoor monitoring plans: The Pro Plan provides overnight outdoor protection (8 PM to 6 AM) and 24/7 indoor monitoring for $49.99 monthly. The Pro Plus Plan, at $79.99 per month, offers complete 24/7 monitoring for both indoor and outdoor protection. The basic Lighthouse pack ($479, on sale for $239), which has everything you need to get started, includes the base station for connecting all your gear to the service, a keypad, three entry sensors, a motion sensor, the Outdoor Security Camera Series 2, and a free wired indoor camera.
[Image credit: Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious, SimpliSafe]
For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.
