CES 2014: Simplicam Brings Facial Recognition Technology To An App-Controllable Camera
by Brent Dirks
January 9, 2014
ArcSoft is looking to add a new interesting component to the familiar app-controllable camera. At CES 2014 in Las Vegas, the company is introducing its Simplicam featuring facial recognition technology
The camera itself is a pretty normal piece of technology. Along with offering a 720p video stream, the companion iOS app will alert users if an unexpected motion or sound is detected.
But the interesting addition is facial recognition. Thanks to a facial tracking feature, subscribers to the optional Closeli Recording Services will be alerted when someone has arrived home. And sometime in mid-2014, the camera will be able to recognize exactly which family member has arrived based on previously setup profiles of each person.
Subscribers can also edit interesting video clips and share them through email or social media directly from their iPhone.
Simplicam will hit the market sometime next month and retail for $149.99. For more information, visit the product site. The cloud recording service starts at $49 per year for the lowest tier that records 24 hours of video. Users will also receive enough storage space to save up to 1 hour of video clips.
Users who don’t pony up the extra money will still be able to view live video and receive motion and audio alerts.
While I’ve been a big fan of what competitor Dropcam has been able to accomplish, especially with its latest piece of hardware, Simplicam’s facial recognition technology does at least sound intriguing. I’m interested to see how well it actually works in real-world scenarios.
