Annular security cameras soar into the sky – or at least the ceiling – as the company publicly reveals its first autonomous indoor drone, the Always Home Cam, at CES 2023. Its main purpose is to deliver a direct live stream from your home so you can keep an eye on things while you are away. The drone takes off when the ring alarm is triggered or when activated via the official app.
The drone has been working for several years and has appeared for the last time back in 2021 (opens in a new tab). It’s been a while since we last heard about the Always Home Camera, and it looks like little has changed (opens in a new tab).
Potential users will first need to “train” the device by holding it in the air (without blocking the camera) and walking around the house to create a preset flight path. Equipped with four rotors, the Always Home Cam will fly along this path as long as there are no obstacles. If it detects something in the way, it will turn around and return to the charging station.
Drone camera live streaming is also available in the app. The footage will have a resolution of 1440 x 1440 pixels and will offer a wide field of view with 120 degrees horizontally and 120 degrees vertically, giving you a decent quality image.
Limitations
As cool as it is, the Always Home Camera has some limits to what it can do. Owners will be able to create up to 50 different flight paths, but the drone can only fly on one as it cannot switch to another mid-flight. To fly a different route, the device will have to return to the charging station, recharge if necessary, and then change to another path. They also need to be fairly short as the drone only has five minutes of flight time before it needs to be recharged.
The home camera is also limited to “operating on one floor of the house at a time”. Apparently he has difficulty with stairs. So if your house has multiple floors, you will need to buy another drone for other floors.
It will also be quite loud. According to the drone’s FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions), “it’s about as loud as a vacuum cleaner or blender in flight.”
Availability
Despite its first public appearance, it will still be some time before the drone officially takes off. in interview with TheVerge (opens in a new tab)Ring founder Jamie Siminoff said the Always Home Cam will become “generally available” sometime in 2024 for $249.99. This delay is due to persistent issues. According to the same interview, the device apparently has difficulty “detecting mirrors and windows”.
We asked Ring if he could tell us what else he’s working on for the Always Home camera. Will the drone finally get the ability to climb stairs so people don’t have to buy another drone to go to the second floor? Do they have plans to increase the current battery life? This story will be updated when we get a response.
However, pre-orders are available for Day1 Edition if you’re interested. It is available by invitation only Amazon website (opens in a new tab) because quantities are limited at the moment. Be sure to check out TechRadar’s recently updated featured list for best drones for beginners for the New Year.