It took a while, but the age-old home security control panel has finally emerged into the 21st Century with the new 2GIG EDGE Security and Automation panel. The new 2GIG EDGE advanced residential security system is a culmination of parent company 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 panel represents the latest radical panel change since the release of its 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 of the Nortek Control sister brands for the creation of the 2GIG EDGE panel. It 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 2GIG EDGE panel are secure face recognition touchless disarming capability, live feed of ONVIF camera compatibility, on-the-edge storage of all biometric data, and Bluetooth disarming.
Integrators will not only have access to an abundance of technology features in the panel, but reap the business rewards from the 2GIG EDGE Security Panel. The panel promises to expand the market, improve dealers’ profitability, and most importantly generate satisfied customers who are interacting with the smart home on a more frequent basis.
There are five key impacts that 2GIG EDGE Security Panel aims to provide:
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- 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-resolution camera, built-in 4G LTE, 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
“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 aforementioned 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 built-in advanced glassbreak 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 easy zone partitioning, 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 to fit their unique needs. On-board camera takes arm/disarm photos adding extended security and peace of mind 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 Wi-Fi. If one service goes down, the other is always available and communicating. 2GIG EDGE Panel is also a wireless access point. With this feature the Edge Panel becomes a router for networked devices. Users can connect their doorbell cameras, remote keypads and IP cameras to the Edge Panel. Additionally, the panel does double-duty as a glass break sensor.
2GIG EDGE Dealer Support, Programming Ease
For installers, the EDGE offers frictionless programming.
“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 of the 2GIG EDGE panel 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 of the system.
“We support S2 encryption for our Z-Wave devices so the entire platform is secure. We are constantly evaluating and upgrading the product to make sure we meet the latest cybersecurity standards,” adds Petrucci. “Having our analytics on the edge means the biometric data does not get sent to the cloud for storage. When you delete that data, it’s gone… your data is protected.”
To bring dealers up to speed quickly on the EDGE panel, 2GIG is hosting a number of trainings and tutorial videos. Dealers and distributors will also have access to the company’s PRO Portal as a site that hosts all the videos, marketing, and sales materials. Dealers can log in and customize any marketing asset for their own use, that includes door hangers, video, flyers, print ads, digital ads and more.
The 2GIG EDGE won the Consumer Technology Association‘s 2021 Mark of Excellence Award for Security and Surveillance Product of the Year in January.
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