Netatmo Presence Upgrades Security Light With IoT

Home security cameras are mainstays of the IoT, but Netatmo wants to take things one step further with Presence, its smarter camera. Weatherproof, ruggedized, and intended to replace an external security floodlight – a neat way to get around the hassle of installing new cabling – the Presence features not only a 1080p camera but the promise to classify what it sees before it warns you.

Traditionally, security cameras might use motion as a trigger, flashing up a notification if someone moves across the scene. Netatmo and others built on that with face recognition; the company's cylindrical Welcome camera can not only identify a human face in the frame, but tell you if it's someone seen before or, conversely, ignore known occupants.

Presence takes that outdoors and categorizes into people, vehicles, and animals. If a delivery van pulls into the drive, for instance, that can trigger a notification in the iOS and Android app; however, the movement of a cat can be ignored.

As with Welcome, Presence supports motion zones, and records to an internal microSD card. Optionally, it can upload footage to a personal FTP server; while that's a little more complex than the cloud storage packages rivals like Nest Cam offer, it does mean there are no ongoing subscription fees.

In addition to the regular floodlight, there's also a far more subtle IR array for nighttime illumination. Footage is recorded at 1080p and encrypted before being transmitted over the camera's WiFi connection, and there's a 100-degree lens and a motion detection range of 65 feet.

Pricing is yet to be confirmed, but Netatmo says Presence will go on sale in Q3 2016.