This photo provided by Nest Labs shows the Nest Cam IQ. Nest Labs is adding Google’s facial recognition technology to a high-resolution security camera that will provide a glimpse at the potential for increasingly intelligent, internet-connected computers to see and understand everything going on in people’s homes. (Nest Labs via AP)Nest Labs is adding Google’s facial recognition technology to a high-resolution home-security camera, offering a glimpse of a future in which increasingly intelligent, internet-connected computers can see and understand what’s going on in people’s homes.
The Nest Cam IQ, unveiled recently, will be Nest’s first device to draw upon the same human-like skills that Google has been programming into its computers – for instance, to identify people in images via its widely used photo app. Facebook deploys similar technology to automatically recognize and recommend tags of people in photos posted on its social network.
THE COST OF FACIAL RECOGNITION
The new camera will set you back almost $300, and you’ll also have to pay $10 a month for a plan that includes facial recognition technology. The same plan will also include other features, such as alerts generated by particular sounds – barking dogs, say – that occur out of the camera’s visual range.
The camera will only identify people you select through Nest’s app for iPhones and Android devices. For instance, you could program the device to recognize a child, friend or neighbor, after which it will send you a notifications about that person being in the home. It won’t try to recognize anyone that an owner hasn’t tagged.