Panasonic Cameramanager, a provider of Video Surveillance as-a-Service (VSaaS) in Europe, has introduced Nubo, a 4G-enabled monitoring camera. It went on show at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
The firm says that consumers have haad to choose between a fixed Wi-Fi home monitoring product, fixed CCTV surveillance or a mobile video recording product. Nubo is a standalone camera with 4G, without requiring a Wi-Fi connection. Designed for indoor and outdoor use, the product is described as weather resistant and has integrated wireless radio. Other sensor controls enable the detection of human figures, for alerts and alarms to the user. A user can speak through the camera when an alert is triggered.
Tijmen Vos, CTO of Panasonic Cameramanager and Product Evangelist of Panasonic Nubo, said: “Consumers have long had to compromise on mobility and connectivity when it came to their surveillance needs, bound either by location or connectivity. Our vision is to deliver a product that allows users the freedom and flexibility of choosing where the camera can be used and the confidence in knowing that the data created is securely transmitted and stored. With the introduction of Nubo, we’re putting the control of safety and surveillance into the user’s hands.”
Nubo comes as a camera, a mobile data plan, a mobile app for controls and alerts, external battery pack and add-on options, and cloud storage by Panasonic Cameramanager, acquired by Panasonic in 2013. What’s stored can be managed through the mobile app on an iOS or Android smartphone and tablet
To establish network capacity at launch, Panasonic Nubo is in conversations with wireless carriers. Vodafone will be the first partner to provide Nubo with 4G Machine-to-Machine (M2M) network connectivity in Europe. Panasonic Nubo is available for pre-orders in the UK, the Netherlands and the United States beginning of April 2015. Product is expected to ship in Q4 2015 for the UK and the Netherlands and in the US in Q1 2016. Visit www.nubocam.com.
Visit: http://business.panasonic.co.uk/.
Market researcher’s comment
Josh Woodhouse, senior analyst for IHS Inc, said that consumer and DIY home monitoring cameras were a market to watch.
He said: “Consumer awareness of video surveillance and home video monitoring is increasing. This has been helped by the exposure Dropcam has provided the category. Retailers are taking note and network cameras are increasingly present on the shelves and webpages of many stores. IHS forecasts over 11 million consumer and DIY network cameras will be shipped worldwide in 2015. With the proliferation of standalone network cameras, the category has evolved beyond just security.
“Cameras in the home are very much lifestyle products that invoke consumers to regularly check-in at any detected change in environment, whether this is checking if the kids are home from school, or if their pets are okay. The regular events detected by cameras’ sensors or connections with other non-video devices means higher user engagement with the camera. This can justify potentially lucrative cloud storage add-on fees, which made Dropcam such an attractive buy for Google’s Nest Labs. The active monitoring approach is a stark contrast to the closed circuit (CCTV) analog camera and DVR systems available in many DIY stores. These systems are traditionally installed and left running until there is an event noticed by the user which requires a video review. Nevertheless, there will remain a large market for this type of equipment for more of a passive security conscious consumer.
“The addition of 4G connectivity of consumer network cameras was a natural progression for the category. What 4G and battery power enables is the further evolution into truly portable home monitoring. Start-up Link-U along with Panasonic’s Nubo are vying to be the first to offer portable home monitoring when shipments start later this year. Nubo’s IP66 rating will allow for use outdoors, an advantage over Link-U and current Dropcam models. Concepts such as the FLIR FX, which combines a portable home monitoring camera with both a dashboard and action camera, could be a glimpse into another potentially interesting direction for the category.”
