CES showcases deterrents to burglaries, home invasions

With burglaries and home invasions on the rise in Southern Nevada, about a dozen companies brought potential deterrents to the trade-show floor of CES this week.

With new sensor technologies available and the price of security systems falling, small companies like iSmartAlarm have developed systems they say will impact the crime the FBI says occurs every 13 seconds in the United States.

"One of the problems," said Tim Hill of Sunnyvale, Calif.-based iSmartAlarm, "is that purchasing a system is a decision that's reached after someone has already broken in and taken your things."

The systems were on display during the four-day consumer electronics show that ends Saturday at several Las Vegas convention venues. More than 170,000 people have been attending the city's largest annual trade show.

Many consumers balk at installing a home-security system because of the price. But with sensor technology improving and wireless communications systems continuing to be developed, the cost of easy-to-maintain do-it-yourself set-ups is falling. The iSmartAlarm basic package retails for $200 and monitoring and control can be managed through free smartphone applications.

Most systems are portable and can be moved when the owner moves to a new residence.

Components in a basic package include contact sensors for doors and windows and motion detectors that will trigger alerts to a monitoring company that contacts police or a smartphone. Some of the pricier systems have cameras and audible alarms. FBI statistics say burglars in 85 percent of break-ins will leave the scene immediately if an alarm in the house goes off.

Some systems also are tied into smoke and carbon monoxide detectors or will trigger with the sound of broken glass or the occurrence of running water when a pipe breaks.

At CES, iSmartAlarm introduced and will soon bring to market a camera system called Spot. The new system captures and stores up to 64 gigabytes of time-lapse custom video, can be set up to provide high-definition streaming video, can store images to a cloud and captures images with night vision. It also has two-way audio.

Several of the company's camera systems can be directed and monitored through a smartphone app control pad.

While inexpensive do-it-yourself security systems are picking up market share, the tried and true monitored systems also have new technology that was on display at CES.

Boca Raton, Fla.-based ADT, a company with roots to 1874 as American District Telegraph, unveiled ADT Canopy, a system that takes advantage of new partnerships that include LG, Samsung, Roost and Honeywell.

Samsung's Gear 2 watch is one of the wearable products that not only protect a home, but provides a panic alert that can be activated by an individual on a walk or jog.

"It even has the capability of two-way communication," said ADT's Jeff Bonin at the company's CES booth. "If you're lost, you can communicate with an alert center that can either summon police or give you directions."

The company hasn't determined a price on ADT Canopy, but Bonin said it would likely be in line with similar monitoring systems.

Because of its tech emphasis, it is geared toward a younger market that may have grown up with an ADT home security system, but now appreciates the added features it provides.

Contact reporter Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Find @RickVelotta on Twitter.