“Now, we can connect the alarm to the camera and, when an alarm goes off, we can look at a live video feed which can also go into the app.”
Advancements in technology meant artificial intelligence (AI) was filling the role of video checking, with a filter being run over the stream, Coneybeer said.
“When the alarm goes off, it kicks off an AI process that can see if there is an animal or a person, and it has gun detection, fire detection and even loitering.
“Before, our team had to check for all those things manually - not an efficient use of time.”
The AI could choose to push a video into the app or not, Coneybeer said.
“If it says ‘Nah, it’s just a dog’, it won’t even generate it.
“There is a big problem with notification fatigue at the moment.
“The AI is trying to reduce all that so you’re only dealing with what it thinks are verified alerts.”
The updated app, released a fortnight ago, won the Outstanding New Product prize at this year’s New Zealand Security Association Awards.
Coneybeer said Whanganui-based NZ Computing Solutions, which built the first app, designed the upgrade.
It took about eight or nine months.
“We’ve caught 508 burglars since we started tracking in 2021, where police have got to a site and removed someone.
“Video is definitely making that number increase faster and it’s making the job more interesting for our operators.
“In the past, we’ve just been in the dark reading plain text.”
Alarm Watch operates out of a bunker fitted with fog cannons, reinforced walls, fire-resistant GIB and CO2 monitors.
It has the highest possible A1 security grade status for Australia and New Zealand.
Coneybeer said the app had just under 20,000 users in New Zealand, and Alarm Watch was the country’s largest monitoring provider.
“We didn’t invent video monitoring but we’re pushing it into our own technology and trying to drive our part of the industry into it.
“It’s all there at your fingertips.”
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
