FACE RECOGNITION DOORBELL

Home device maker Nest Labs is adding Google’s facial recognition technology to a camera-equipped doorbell and rolling out a security system in an attempt to end its history of losses.

The products announced Wednesday expand upon the internet-connected thermostats, smoke detectors and stand-alone security cameras that Nest has been selling since its inception six years ago. Nest has been among the early leaders in the effort to make home appliances as intelligent as people’s smartphones.

The Hello doorbell comes with a built-in video camera and speakers that will make it seem like it can recognize and talk to people. The doorbell will draw upon Google’s facial recognition technology so it can warn a home’s occupants when a stranger approaches.

Instead of the fisheye view you’d get from some doorbell cameras, Nest Hello combines a 160-degree field of view with a 4:3 aspect ratio. That gives you not only a wide-angle view of the area around your front door, but a top-to-bottom view that lets you see the entire person approaching your door.

Nest says the camera has HDR imaging for a clear picture, and there’s a night vision feature, too.

The camera doesn’t just kick on when someone rings a doorbell. Motion sensors capture the image of anyone who approaches your door, and you’re sent an alert on your phone.

Nest Hello features HD Talk & Listen so you can speak to whoever’s outside. For those times when you’re otherwise engaged, the Nest Hello app has a quick response feature, which plays a voice message.

A more clever addition to the app is a nap time feature that silences the door chime while still sending notifications to the phone. It sounds like a handy way not to be interrupted by a doorbell.

Nest isn’t announcing a price for its new doorbell until it hits the market sometime during the first three months of next year.

A user of the Nest  doorbell must manually tag and name people before the device recognizes someone.

 

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