Gamification of security and video surveillance…

I had three interesting conversations this week which exposed what I think is the single most important ongoing innovation in the security technology industry: gamification.

By this I mean the way that companies like Apple, Facebook or Microsoft have set what Tyco Security Products’ product marketing manager described as “the gold standard” in user experience.

The user experience and usability of security management software is one of the most important aspects of any system and the driving force in it is coming from people who are (or were) outside the security industry.

Avigilon specialise in extremely high definition surveillance cameras and many consider their products as offering some of the best clarity in the market. But Avigilon are acutely aware that it doesn’t matter how good their products are if no one can use them.

This is why they’ve been experimenting recently to push the boundaries of what you might expect from a security management application.

The company are based in Vancouver, a huge centre of the gaming industry where many of the biggest companies (such as EA games) are based. Many of their design team came over from the creative industry and have brought a new way of thinking to the technology they see.

Their experiment with Microsoft’s Kinect system that allowed users to control Avigilon Control Center 5 in the same way they might play games at home was fascinating in that it was completely out there – something no one else had even thought to try seemingly.

And Avigilon’s Angela St Amour made the point to me that, while experimental at this stage, the idea could lead to a revolution in accessibility for those with impairments that might have prevented them from using the security management software. It’s completely voice and motion activated and controlled – what could be simpler for someone with little or no experience in using IT, like my Dad.

User experience should be simple and intuitive was the message from Avigilon.

Gold standard

Tyco Security Products said almost exactly the same thing. “Apple has set the gold standard in user experience,” said Stephan Beckmann, product marketing manager.

Alongside him Shahar Ze’evi, senior product manager with American Dynamics, emphasised that Tyco’s design teams – many of whom also came from the gaming industry – are driving user experience as the single most important aspect of their designs.

“Every product in the last 18 months has been driven by design teams to give end users a great experience,” said Shahar, himself having come from the financial IT industry before working at Tyco.

And Siemens’ Peter Hawksworth also took part in the Apple love-in. He hinted at a new platform – designed to aid migration of analogue products to IP – was influenced by “a certain smartphone that you might have heard of”.

“The products have to look good,” he added.

Shahar thinks we are now past the point where we had to educate the market about the benefits of digital in the security market, past the relentless slog to prove that this camera or that camera is the best in breed, and we have reached the point where all of our security systems are unified.

Access control, CCTV, fire doors, fire control panels, and intruder alarms are coming together – unified on platforms that are simple to use and have been (unashamedly) inspired by the consumer software industry.

The gamification of security? Ok, I admit that sounds like it’s trivialising the importance of security – but manufacturers are clearly learning from video game makers in a market that is increasingly IT-driven and software-focused.