CE Pro April 2021 - 26

CE NEWS
NETWORKING+HOME CONTROL

security corner

Is 2GIG EDGE the Smartest Security Panel Ever?
THE NEW 2GIG EDGE Security

and Automation Panel is a culmination of Nortek Control's vision to use
the best technological elements from its
various audio, video and security brands
into a single smart home ecosystem. The
EDGE panel represents the latest radical
panel change since the release of 2GIG's
flagship GC2 panel 10 years ago.
" It's the most technically advanced panel we have ever put out, " says Nortek Control CEO Chris Larocca, noting how the
engineering and design teams drew from
several sister brands.
The panel unites smart home control
elements such as face recognition from
Elan; crisp audio born from SpeakerCraft
with twice the speakers and double the
microphones; data and privacy protection
gleaned from IntelliVision; and Nortek
Control's technology advancements
including a high-res camera display ,
integrated analytics and ultra-high-speed
processing. Among the industry firsts
in the panel are secure face recognition
touchless disarming capability, live feed
of ONVIF camera capability, on-the-edge
storage of all biometric data, and Bluetooth disarming.
There are five key impacts that 2GIG
EDGE Security Panel aims to provide:
▷ Ease of use using an intuitive GUI,
voice control and Bluetooth
▷ Installation and programming efficiency
▷ Interoperability with other devices via
ONVIF and Z-Wave compatibility
▷ Advanced technologies such as integrated analytics in a high-res camera,
built-in 4GLTE (5G compatible),
and face recognition
▷ Data privacy is achieved via advanced
analytics and storage on the edge versus the cloud, as well as end-to-end
encryption

Rather than sending images and private
biometric data to the cloud for processing,
2GIG EDGE panel uses on-the-edge analytics
to process and authenticate faces privately.

" It all starts with ease of use, " says
Quinto Petrucci, vice president of product management for the Nortek Control
2GIG brand. " We believe this product is
going to be the main focal point of the
smart home. This is where a homeowner
will interact with their security and all their
automation devices. It has it all in a bold,
beautiful design. There's nothing like it in
the market. "
The GUI offers one-button access to
security and smart home function, quick
on-screen controls, up to eight remote
keypads, on-screen display of camera feeds
and a slideshow of family photos, plus the
Bluetooth disarming.
" With the proximity of your phone,
you can disarm the system, and the ability to securely disarm the system with your
face is an industry first, " says Petrucci.
Other key features include advanced
glass break detection, geofencing, dual
path communication capability through
Wi-Fi or LTE, and the ability to control
Wi-Fi access points.
Advanced location services allow for the
panel to arm/disarm, or have scenes activated based on location. The 2GIG EDGE
Panel can recognize the homeowner and
turn on certain lights. With zone parti-

tioning, users can independently arm/disarm up to four separate areas of the house.
Users can even customize living spaces
with advanced automation rules, scenes
and notifications. An on-board camera
takes arm/disarm photos adding extended
security knowing codes are used by authorized user. Surveillance cameras and doorbell cameras work with the panel, with up
to eight different camera feeds viewable
directly from the panel.
The system communicates with the
network using both cellular LTE and WiFi. If one service goes down, the other is
available and communicating. The 2GIG
EDGE Panel is also a wireless access point.
With this feature, the panel becomes a
router for networked devices. Users can
connect doorbell cameras, remote keypads, and IP cameras, and the panel does
double-duty as a glass break sensor.

Dealer Support, Easy Programming
For installers, the 2GIG EDGE offers frictionless programming, according to the
company.
" It is something you can install quickly, " says Petrucci. " It also supports all legacy sensors and devices, so backwards compatibility is maintained. "
One of the most ballyhooed features by
integrators who were beta testers was the
processing speed.
" Some of our dealers told us that the time
from an alarm event occurring to the alert
being received by the central station was the
fastest they had ever seen, " says Petrucci.
Security and encryption are also key
aspects, with S2 encryption supported for
Z-Wave devices. Petrucci says the company
is constantly upgrading to meet cybersecurity standards. " Having our analytics on
the edge means the biometric data does not
get sent to the cloud for storage, " he notes.
-Jason Knott

CE Pro APRIL 2021 www.cepro.com

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CE Pro April 2021

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