I have to admit on first glance of seeing this product I thought it has to be an April Fools Joke or a hoax. However when you think about it with the incredible automation of drones and many people having a security camera at home to check on whats going on when you are not there, the idea of a camera that can fly around is kind of compelling.
I am a person who likes having cameras to monitor what is going on so this idea interests me, the convergence of cameras and drones and smart homes for better home automation and security is really novel, sure you could probably say gimmicky, but I like the possibilities.
This new product from Amazon smart home company Ring is an indoor flying camera that you program to fly on custom flight path(s) around your house. It was announced at CES back in 2020 but now it is available – exclusively by invitation sold via Ring or Amazon.
I know that for many people there are issues of privacy and trust associated with cameras in the home and between Alexa, Google and Siri there is already a sense that perhaps we are being ‘over monitored’. So it is really interesting that Ring have decided to make this camera only work when it makes one of it sentry flights around your home.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
Video is recorded in HD (1440×1440) but only when in flight (a privacy mechanism). It has an LED light to illuminate and see what is being filmed and it can be triggered to automatically go to a location, say if one of your Ring Alarm contact sensors or motion detectors are triggered.
Field of view is 120º horizontal and 120º vertical. The charging dock (120-22-v) runs a USB-C power adapter. It connects on dual band wifi both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Navigation is via lidar sensors which may not be quite enough to automatically navigate large windows and mirrors so mapping the path in the Ring application will be important.
Flight time is 5 minutes.
Price: $249.99 USD
Currently only available by invitation and only ships to the US.