Levitating lightbulbs, turntables, speakers… cameras? Apparently there’s a gap in the market and manufacturer 1-Ring want to fill it with smart camera, ‘Moon.’
“The world's first camera to defy gravity” is a big (slightly dramatised) statement, but 1-Ring are making it with its new camera offering currently available via Indiegogo.
Able to record video of up to 1080p quality thanks to a 5MP camera at both day and night, the device also incorporates temperature, humidity, light and CO2 sensors into its relatively small form factor. There’s even a trio of noise-cancelling microphones too. The camera is compatible with Android, iOS and Windows.
Apparently, its levitating capabilities allows for a full 360-degree perspective of what’s going on in the home, as opposed to your run-of-the-mill, plain old fixed camera – helpfully, the camera also charges wirelessly whilst floating in mid-air.
Of course, it’s not the first magnetic ‘levitating’ offering we’ve seen lately – back at CES 2017, LG introduced its own small floating speaker which though adorable, seemed like a novelty addition to its line up more than anything else.
With security monitoring the feature at its core, the Moon is equipped with sound and motion detection, that when triggered, will send a direct live feed to the user’s smartphone. It also packs in two-way comms so you can have a choice word or two with any intruders in your home, or just tell your canine companion that you’ll be home soon.
Yet offering this functionality is seemingly not enough for 1-Ring, who also want to (rather courageously) push the product as a smart hub for the home. The device will support several home automation standards, including the likes of IFTTT and Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Apple HomeKit and Samsung SmartThings. WiFi and Bluetooth is also a given, in addition to the ability to communication via Z-Wave, Zigbee and IR Blaster protocols.
Will this really happen in a market full of established smart home hubs? Does a security camera really need to levitate to truly be ‘smart,’ or is this another prototype that will largely fail to alter the progression of the security market? Answers on a postcard please.
The Moon is expected to retail at US $330, and is currently available for 40% less on Indiegogo in three different colours.