The way we live our everyday life has changed compared to the past. While once upon a time, changes and innovations were perceived over several generations, today we perceive them, from one year to another. This aptitude for change has become an icon of our modern society. The new era is ruled by computers, the internet and multimedia communications applied to mobile technology. Modern architecture is inspired by home automation. This new technology allows to transform the house and all of its systems in a multimedia system aimed at serving people and improving the safety of the environment. The remote video-surveillance system, named Piper, is a perfect example of home automation. In this article we will try to provide a description of the main features of this system, highlighting the specific features of this modern and efficient unique home automation architecture. The system we will analyze is made of a WiFi monitoring camera (with a built-in alarm), also equipped with a night vision sensor and numerous security modes. Moreover, it is highly flexible and compatible with multiple mobile operating systems for remote control.
Home automation for security systems: a video for environmental control
The main advantage offered by the Piper camera is the possibility of monitoring remotely the environment, with the aid of a series of accessories compatible with the Z-Wave standard. The Z-Wave is a friendly wireless network, that allows sensors equipped with Z-Wave chips, to communicate with each other on low power radio frequencies. Many accessories come with a Z-Wave feature, giving plenty of choice to the customers. In fact, these gadgets range from physical access control devices, to temperature, movement, smoke and gas sensors. Practically, all these devices allow a plant engineer to rely on home automation solutions for specific needs and situations. The Z-Wave feature transforms a simple camera in an efficient smart control-unit. The Piper is in fact equipped with a send warning device, allowing you to be alerted about a possible event that is taking place in your house or at the office. The real potentials of this technology solution have increased thanks to possibility of controlling them remotely by an app on your mobile.
Z-Wave and remote control through mobile systems
One of the greatest advantages of the Piper camera is the fact that it can be controlled remotely, via a mobile app. You do not really need to buy a remote control station to operate the controls of the network. The interaction is ensured through an application, previously downloaded from the Internet, and made available for free from the company. The Piper Mobile app is available on Google Play or iTunes.
(Reference link: getpiper.com/download).
The graphics of the application is amazing and user friendly. Its simplicity makes it really easy to manage and does not require to be computer savvy. The application is divided into a main menu and four sub-pages or subpanels. The Dashboard is the main desk and allows you to manage the macro-functionality and access the sub-pages. The main function of the Dashboard is the possibility of selecting one of the network’s working modes which are: home, away, and vacation. These modes are preset and depend substantially on the presence or absence of people inside the premises. The application allows you to configure whether to switch on or switch off the sensors in the most important areas of the network, depending on your requirements. Another very important aspect concerns the chronology. Basically, the application creates a folder, named the “events folder” and it will place there all the signals and warnings sent, thus allowing the possibility of recreate a chronological order of all the events occurring in a given time frame. In addition to the events folder, the records can be exported in several formats, if needed. From the Rules page you can set up automatic logging, if the motion sensor sends an input and transmits a signal. This mode also allows you to control what’s happening in your house, by simply activating the vision camera. Night vision is guaranteed by the amplification of brightness of small lights. The night vision sensor is self-adjustable, thus avoids the saturation of the system.
Conclusions
The video-camera Icontrol Piper is definitely a good choice for creating an effective and efficient control security network. In fact, the greatest advantages are offered by the interoperability of different Z-Wave sensors and accessories, making Z-Wave a valuable alternative over other technological solutions.
(More information can be found on the official website getpiper.com)