Ring introduces an indoor flying drone for home security

What if home security cameras could fly? Ring, a home security company owned by Amazon, decided to make this a reality.

The latest home security tool by Ring is the Always Home Cam, a flying drone that can help homeowners check their dwellings whenever they're not in.

The Always Home Cam is a lightweight, self-docking, flying indoor camera that can take a predetermined path set by its user.

When used with Ring's proprietary home alarms systems like the Ring Alarm, the Always Home Cam will take flight and check the house for any potential disturbances. The drone unit can also be controlled remotely and manually. After a flight, the Always Home Cam automatically returns to its station and docks itself for charging. It only records while in flight, too.

A home security drone like the Always Home Cam can be pretty handy if a homeowner isn't fond of having a camera pointed at every room, nook, or cranny in their domain. Because it flies, it can traverse and check on home appliances, e.g. to see whether a window was closed or whether they left the stove on.

It's also great for checking on naughty pets, since the drone has obstacle avoidance technology built-in, and shrouded propellers to mitigate any damage to household furnishing in the event of a collision. Finally, it's improbable that someone breaking in would expect to see a drone coming at them, as demonstrated by Ring's promotional video of the Always Home Cam above.

Does it actually work? We'll only know when Ring starts shipping the drone next year. The global retail price sits at US$249 (S$342) and will only be available on Amazon in 2021.

This article was first published in Hardware Zone