Withings launches a CCTV baby cam that'll monitor your air quality
It might have started out just making connected weighing scales, but Withings is now serious about making your home a healthy place to be. That's why the company has launched Home, a connected baby cam that also pulls double-duty to ensure that you're as healthy as you can be. The cause of some physical strife, so it claims, is VOCs, or Volatile Organic Compounds in the air. Thanks to the rise in double glazing and a desire to conserve energy, people aren't leaving their windows open as much as they should, leading to a deadly rise in these VOCs in the air.
But we're getting ahead of ourselves, because Home's primary duty is to work as an HD home-monitoring camera. Packing a 5-megapixel lens with a 135-degree field of vision and, erm, "night vision," you can either point it at your restless infants, or use it as a security camera since it'll alert your smartphone whenever it detects motion within its purview.
The unit also comes with a two-way microphone, so you can scream at your little darling when they've woken up for the 20th time that night to, you know, stop. The device can also act as a night-light, thanks to a white line around the bottom that'll gently glow when you tap Home on the top. Oh, and it has something called "cry recognition," which should cheer panicked parents. Privacy enthusiasts, on the other hand, may also be happy to know that, should you want to stop the monitoring for any reason, you can twist the real-wood outer case to cover the lens. In addition, of course, are the clutch of sensors that monitor VOCs, humidity and temperature, all of which will be pumped into the company's Health Mate app, which also drives its fitness scales and wearable devices.
So, when can you buy it? The company is promising that Home will be available at some point in the fall, setting you back €199/£170, with US pricing and availability to come in the future. Withings has also let slip that its long-awaited Activité Swiss watch-cum-activity tracker will be ready for prime time in the fall (read: October), retailing for $390/€390/£320. Oh, and if you're wondering, this won't replace the company's existing Smart Baby Monitor -- the Home, that is; the idea that a watch would replace a baby monitor is just weird.
