If you’re looking for a way to beef up your home security system, how about aeronautic surveillance which includes a flying camera that operates autonomously?

That’s the Always Home Cam, just announced by Ring, a security company which was bought by Amazon back in 2018, in a deal worth in excess of $1 billion.

Rather than the user setting up cameras in multiple rooms around the house, the autonomous drone will cruise around and give you a perspective of any room, before returning to its charging dock to recharge once the route is completed.

Shipping will only start next year, reports The Verge, and units are expected to cost $250 (around R4 200).

The Always Home Cam is fully autonomous, but owners can tell it what path it can take and where it can go. When you first get the device, you build a map of your home for it to follow, which allows you to ask it for specific viewpoints such as the kitchen or bedroom. The drone can be commanded to fly on demand or programmed to fly when a disturbance is detected by a linked Ring Alarm system.

The charging dock blocks the camera’s view, and the camera only records when it is in flight. Ring says the drone makes an audible noise when flying so it is obvious when footage is being recorded.

All good product launches come with a video these days, and the Always Home Camera is no different:

I never said it was going to be a well-made video.

The more forgetful, or OCD out there, may also see a benefit in being able to check if a certain door was locked, or the stove left on, and I guess you can also spy on your pets and their private lives.

To avoid unfortunate snafus, the Always Home Cam has built-in obstacle avoidance technology, and the propellers that help it take flight are designed so that they cannot hurt anyone, or anything, in the event of a collision.

Shall we talk potential downsides? Talking to the BBC, one campaign group described it as Amazon’s “most chilling home surveillance product” yet:

“It’s difficult to imagine why Amazon thinks anyone wants flying internet cameras linked up to a data-gathering company in the privacy of their own home,” said Silkie Carlo from Big Brother Watch.

Image: Amazon

“It’s important to acknowledge the influence that Amazon’s product development is having on communities and the growing surveillance market.”

In response, Amazon said that privacy was central to the design of the product, in that it only records when in flight, and has been designed to be noisy so that it doesn’t catch anyone unaware, and acts as a deterrent to criminals.

I imagine it would go straight into the back pocket of a criminal here in South Africa, but the concept is still intriguing.

[sources:verge&bbc]