After reinventing the thermostat and smoke detector, Nest launches a high-tech CCTV camera Nest Labs, the home automation company bought by Google for £2 billion last year, has launched its first new product since the acquisition – a home security camera.
The Nest Cam is an updated version of the Dropcam, a product Google and Nest also bought out together last year. However, this is more than a simple re-branding. The new Nest Cam can shoot full HD 1080p, has improved night vision and has an added microphone so you can communicate through the camera. It is also now much slimmer,with flexible zinc-alloy stand so you can angle it and a magnetic base so it can be securely attached to metal surfaces. The main selling point for the DropCam is still here though: the Nest Cam provides a constant stream of video to your phone through a companion app. You can also set Activity Zones within the camera’s 130-degree fi eld of vision, so the device will alert your phone if anyone has entered a particular area. To prevent false alarms, Nest Cam uses intelligent motion sensors that can tell the difference between a falling leaf and a person. However, while the camera can identify people, Nest drew the line at being able to recognise individuals.“We didn’t want to use facial recognition because we felt it was unnecessary and a bit intrusive. I wouldn’t want to have to go up to my cleaner and ask to take her photo so I can see when she is in the room,” said Billy Burnett, Nest’s European communications manager. The Nest Cam on its own costs £159/$200 on its own, but has been released alongside a new subscription service called Nest Aware. For £8/$10 or £24/$30 per month, video for the past 10 or 30 days will saved to your Nest Aware account so you can review the day’s happenings at your leisure, rather than have to just watch a live stream in real-time on your phone or computer. Each video will include markers highlighting when the camera detected some kind of interesting movement. This means you won’t have to scroll through an entire day to see if anyone had entered a room, instead clicking on a marker will allow you to jump to moments of high activity. However, while a Nest Cam gives you the power of all-seeing surveillance, following the recent scandal involving Samsung TVs that listen to what you’re saying and the furor over the Xbox One Kinect in 2013, you might have fears about who else is looking through your Nest Cam. “We’ve taken security very seriously,” said Billy Burnett. “The device itself is encrypted and that is something that can’t be externally hacked.“The device will alert your phone if anyone has entered a particular area"“Everything has 2048-bit SSL encryption, which is a very high standard. Also, every individual session is individually encrypted, so even if someone were able to hack into your account, they wouldn’t have access to all the footage. Google has one of the best security records going and Dropcam is excellent too.” He also stressed that none of the manufacturers would be able to spy on you. Inviting something into your home to record is very personal so we’re trying to give customers total confidence in their privacy. No one from Nest, Google or Dropcam can see any of your footage,” said Burnett. As well as launch the Nest Cam, the company also announced the second generation of its carbon monoxide detector, the Nest Protect, and upgrades to its best-known product, the Nest Learning Thermostat. “At Nest, we always wanted to build more than a thermostat,” said Tony Fadell, Nest chief executive officer. “Our vision was to create a thoughtful home – a home that takes care of itself and the people in it. Five years later, all the pieces are in place. “More than 9,000 developer partners are using the Works with Nest developer program to help seamlessly integrate everything from washers and dryers to cars with our thermostat, smoke alarm and camera,” he added. The new Nest Protect can detect smoke even faster with its split-spectrum sensor. While the original only had one photoelectric sensor, the new model has two, so it can tell the difference between fast and slow burning fires. It can also distinguish between smoke and steam to prevent false alarms. Should the siren go off necessarily, you can also now silence it from your phone. The Nest Learning Thermostat will now alert you if your home’s temperature should suddenly rise very high or plunge very low. The Thermostat will also now work with the Nest Protect to shut down the boiler if the smoke detector senses a leaks. The Thermostat will even be able to shut down fans, to prevent them from fuelling flames or circulating smoke through your home.
