We are living in a new social era of living and with that there is a need for smarter solutions and assistants that can recognise and effectively identify friends, from intruders. Like with FLARE by BuddyGuard, an indoor security camera that protects homes all by itself using artificial intelligence and machine learning technology on a small custom-made IoT hardware device. At the second annual Virtual Assistant Summit taking place on the 26 - 27 January, George Platon, CTO and Founder of BuddyGuard, will be sharing the company's approach to AI assistants in the job of home security. I asked him a few questions ahead of the summit to learn more about his role, and how AI can be utilised within home security. What do you feel are the leading factors enabling recent advancements and uptake of virtual assistants?

Mark Zuckerberg made it his new year's goal to create Jarvis-like artificial intelligence for his home -- at this point it lets him manage his house and toasts his bread. But a German startup called BuddyGuard may have beaten him to the punch. The company recently launched an artificially intelligent security system called Flare, and brought it to IFA to show it off. Flare is part camera, part AI, part IoT accessory. BuddyGuard bills its product as "the first home security system powered by true artificial intelligence."

Technology has greatly affected our lives over the years. Now, a study from Stanford University has revealed how artificial intelligence (A.I.) may change people's lifestyle -- from transportation, employment, health and household chores -- by the year 2030. Machine learning is a subfield of computer science, that grew out of the quest for artificial intelligence. It is so pervasive in today's world that you probably use it often in daily life, without even realising it. Machine learning has given us self-driving cars, effective web search, recommendations that you get when you visit web sites or social media sites, face detection in a digital photo album, stock trading etc. Mark Zuckerberg made it his new year's goal to create Jarvis-like artificial intelligence for his home -- at this point it lets him manage his house and toasts his bread.

BuddyGuard, a Berlin-based Smart Home start-up company, has started selling its Flare home security system that uses face and voice recognition to authenticate visitors. Flare uses artificial intelligence (AI) in order to bring an additional layer of home security and will send police to a residence on its own without a user's approval. The Smart Home security system uses a software called AudioIntel that distinguishes normal noise from suspicious sounds, allowing the system to take action on its own. However homeowners will still be informed through notifications, BuddyGuard says. The saucer-like security system Flare is able to distinguish normal noise from suspicious sounds and will take actions on its own.