Home security companies are currently in an arms race to equip their security cameras with the latest AI features, like automatic searching through video or customizable object detection. Reolink’s turn at IFA (Innovation for All) in Berlin showed just how far the security brand has come with its own AI, now called ReoNeura and sporting several important advances.
I’ve been testing security cam AI features for a few years now and ReoNeura has several familiar features that act as huge upgrades for home security systems, as long as you don’t mind AI keeping an eye on your recorded videos and other content. When Reolink announced its AI improvements in July, it focused on automatic video searching, where its AI could look through video clips and identify objects for faster analysis. Now at IFA, the security company is added onto that in two important ways:
- Smart object and event detection: Smart object detection, an important feature for any security camera, can identify people, animals, vehicles, bikes and (most useful) packages. If you don’t want to get a barrage of alerts Reolink includes custom zones and — a feature I’ve rarely seen — schedules so you can turn the smart detection off for certain periods. It can also send specific alerts about alarming events, like if a package disappears.
- Video captions: I’ve seen this feature pop up a lot since security cams embraced AI. It analyzes video footage and then provides summaries of what the AI has detected, like “a blue truck pulls up” or “two children on bikes appear” and so on. It can be a time-saver when you have to dig through events at the end of the day.
Reolink also announced a new camera to take advantage of these AI extras, and it’s a powerhouse. The TrackFlex Floodlight camera is a Wi-Fi model with a 4K dual lens (telephoto and wide-angle) that’s also pan/tilt, giving users an extra-clear 360-degree vision with 270-degree motion detection — including auto-rotating when it senses movement at the edges. The LED floodlight panels shine at 3,000 lumens and can switch color temperatures.
This cam is a great example of how Reolink treads the line between residential and commercial security cameras with models suitable for either purpose. If you want an extra-powerful camera, you can pre-order it here for about $200. I’m working on getting my hands on a test model.
For more security camera goodness, take a look at my recommendations for indoor cameras and outdoor cameras so you can see what’s available.
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