At one point in history, the sole purpose of a lightbulb was to brighten up an area that would otherwise be dark. Now, thanks to the internet of things, lightbulbs have not only evolved from their original purpose, they’ve also gained new capabilities.
First it was custom color lightbulbs. Then came along lightbulbs with built-in speakers. Soon, though, lightbulbs might also arrive packing an integrated camera and microphone.
French lighting company Bell & Wyson has unveiled Pix+, a completely new lightbulb with a built-in security camera capable of wirelessly streaming the feed to Android and iOS devices.
At the core of the Pix+ is an 11-watt LED bulb capable of outputting 600 lumen of light, the equivalent of a 60-watt incandescent bulb. Placed atop the center of the bulb — and suggesting the sort of tech shown in spy movies — is a dedicated camera module with an integrated two-way microphone and a MicroSD card slot.
When screwed into its intended socket and connected to Wi-Fi, the lightbulb streams live video and audio to a proprietary smartphone app. Motion detection is built in, and if something moves when it shouldn’t, you’ll receive a notification on your smartphone. Video can be recorded locally on a MicroSD card and remotely using the smartphone app.
The exact specifications of the video quality are still unknown, but in a reply to a comment on the product page, Bell & Wyson says the video is streamed in HD quality and will work in the dark, even without the lightbulb on. Like other smart lightbulbs, the Pix+ can be turned on and off both locally and remotely.
The Pix+ is currently available through Bell & Wyson’s online store for approximately $105.
Few things ruin a quiet evening faster than a robot vacuum roaring through the living room. Most of us end up pausing the cleaning run, which defeats the whole purpose of owning one. Matic thinks it has the answer with its new Serene robot vacuum, and the big selling point is how little noise it makes.
The Matic Serene runs at 52 decibels even when cleaning at full power. To put that in perspective, Matic compares it to the hum of your refrigerator. It is available now for $1,695, which is $200 more than the original Matic’s current price.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
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