Nest Labs, a security systems provider that was acquired by Alphabet Inc. for $3.2 billion in 2014, has now unveiled a brand new high-resolution Security Camera that uses Google's latest Facial Recognition technology. Alphabet Inc., a Google-owned company, provides the camera with access to its huge Google Image library and its state of the art biometric technology to identify individual faces caught on camera.
A smarter security system
The brand new Nest Cam IQ, which was unveiled just this week, will be able to identify faces caught in images similar to the way Facebook is able to recommend tags on photos posted on the social media platform.
Additionally, the camera is equipped with an advanced feature that is able to track movement around its visual range.
The camera also has a built-in speaker and microphone so users can directly "speak" to anyone on the other end. Aside from visual cues, the camera can also identify different audio signals, such as barking dogs, and then send an alert to the camera's operator via its accompanying mobile app.
Privacy concerns
To avoid any issues when it comes to invading other people's privacy, the camera will only identify people that the user has specifically tagged. This means that the facial recognition feature may only be used to alert users when a neighbor, nanny, dog walker, and other already identified people enter the home.
When the Nest Cam IQ sees a burglar or a trespasser enter the home, law enforcement will still have to identify the suspect themselves.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital advocacy group, doesn't consider the company's implementation of its facial recognition system as a major privacy concern. Jennifer Lynch, a staff attorney at the advocacy group, explains that the camera is only limited to identifying familiar faces and not those of complete strangers.
Even so, Nest still decided to ban the feature for products sold in Illinois due to the state's law that forbids the collection of any person's biometric data without their prior consent.
Additional costs
Aside from the $300 price tag, customers will still have to pay an additional $10 per month to enable the device's additional features.
The extra monthly fee will include the facial recognition feature and video cloud storage for 10 days. Users can extend their stored videos for up to 30 days with a $30 per month plan. The Nest Cam IQ is fully compatible with the company's other lower-resolution outdoor and indoor cameras.
