Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Security system watches over your home without cameras

by Jon Fingas , @jonfingas


You don't have many great choices for home security systems right now. Conventional systems are expensive and effectively fixed in place, while connected cameras are conspicuous and carry the risk (however small) that someone might spy on you. Xandem thinks it has a better way, however. It's crowdfunding a security system that uses motion-detecting wireless mesh networking (previously the stuff of research) to alert you to intruders. It only requires plug-in nodes to work, and the resulting radio frequency web can both travel through objects and follow subjects. If all goes well, you're getting more complete coverage that stays hidden and reduces the chance of a false positive -- you can even track motion in apps or the web to see if it's a burglar or just a family member who got home early.

Xandem isn't cheap up front: you're looking at a minimum $475 pledge to get a 10-node system, and $575 for 15 nodes. However, early bird buyers get the accompanying cloud service free for life. Even the latecomers skip the $120 yearly subscription for the first year. That's potentially a big discount if you're both aiming for broad coverage and plan to use the service for a long while. You won't get yours until August, assuming the project meets its funding goals, but your patience may pay off if you don't think existing home security technology cuts the mustard.


Article Source: Security system watches over your home without cameras

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