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Netatmo’s Welcome security camera recognises your family, paps burglars

Netatmo’s latest connected home appliance, Welcome, is a smart security camera that learns to recognise friendly faces – and spot unfriendly ones. 

Thanks to facial recognition technology, Welcome will tag family members and send notifications to phones with the Welcome app (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android) to let you know who is in. 

Designed to create peace of mind, Welcome can be customised to send parents notifications whenever it spots family members coming home. Something of a double-edged sword, Welcome can also ping you notifications if it sees a face it doesn’t recognise. 

As well as letting parents keep tabs on who is being brought home, it’s also well equipped to alert you to any would-be burglars. 

Fred Potter, CEO and Founder of Netatmo said: “Netatmo is proud to present Welcome. Its outstanding technology makes today’s smart homes even smarter. Welcome addresses two major consumer needs: to know when their loved ones are home and to be aware if a stranger breaks into their residence. Welcome brings peace of mind to all family members.” 

Netatmo’s Welcome security camera recognises your family, paps burglars
The Welcome iOS app in action

The 1080p Full HD camera connects to your router via Ethernet or WiFi and features a 130 degree viewing arc and an infrared sensor means it’ll be able to pick out any night intruders.

The spec sheet reveals that there’s a microphone and that Welcome can record sound – but there’s no telling if the mic is as advanced as Cocoon’s subsonic sensors

Encrypted live feeds can be accessed through phones and tablets and through the desktop apps. Recorded footage is backed up to a local microSD card instead of stored in the cloud. 

This means that videos of your home can’t fall afoul of any iCloud-type hacks. Netatmo says that this absolves customers from having to sign up for any monthly storage plans. 

While you won’t have to pay any extra to store footage in a cloud locker, you will have to back up any footage you want kept yourself. Be sure not to wipe any potentially vital evidence when yo ucome to wipe the card for future use.

Without a microSD card present, Welcome’s camera can’t file any data, so you’ll need to have a card of some description in there at all times. You’ll get one included in the box (4GB) but it might be prudent to invest in a bigger card. 

Netatmo’s Welcome security camera recognises your family, paps burglars
Pillar of justice: Netatmo’s security camera keeps an eye on passers-by

As well as keeping a close eye on who comes in through the front door, Welcome can also be paired up with Tags, auxiliary motion sensors that can be placed on windows, doors, gates, driveways – anywhere up to 100 metres away from the Welcome unit. These will trigger phone notifications if the back door or a window is opened and can even send a signal if someone is knocking at the door. 

Smart thermostat maker Netatmo has already scooped four awards at CES 2015 for the Welcome camera in the Smart Home, Digital Imaging, Home Appliances and Tech for a Better World categories. 

There’s no word on a price for one of these yet but we should know more soon enough. Netatmo says that Welcome will be on sale by the summer of 2015. 

Netatmo Welcome specifications

  • Dimensions: 45x45x155 mm / 1.8×1.8×6 inches
  • Camera: 5-megapixels
  • Video resolution: Up to 1920×1080 (Full HD)
  • Frame rate: Up to 30fps
  • Encoding: H.264
  • Night vision mode: Mechanic IR filter for both sharp vision by night and bright colors by day. Extra-large 2 microns pixels. 
  • Storage: microSD card up to 32GB (4GB class 10 microSD card included)
  • Connectivity: Ethernet (10/100 Mbits), WiFi (Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, 2.4GHz) 
  • Radio (for talking to Welcome Tags): 100m long range (915 MHz or 868 MHz)
  • Security encryption: AES 256bit

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