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TECHNOLOGY Thursday 1 June 2017
Nest security camera knows who’s home with Google face tech

MICHAEL LIEDTKE THE COST OF FACIAL REC- Electronic Frontier Founda-
AP Technology Writer OGNITION tion, a digital advocacy
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) The new camera will begin group.
— Nest Labs is adding shipping in late June for al- But Lynch believes privacy
Google’s facial recogni- most $300. issues are bound to crop
tion technology to a high- You’ll also have to pay $10 up as the resolution and
resolution home-security a month for a plan that in- zoom capabilities of home
camera, offering a glimpse cludes facial recognition security cameras improve,
of a future in which in- technology. The same plan and as engineers develop
creasingly intelligent, inter- will also include other fea- more sophisticated ways
net-connected computers tures, such as alerts gener- of identifying people even
can see and understand ated by particular sounds when an image is moving
what’s going on in peo- — barking dogs, say — that or only a part of a face is
ple’s homes. occur out of the camera’s visible.
The Nest Cam IQ, unveiled visual range. Storing home-security vid-
Wednesday, will be Nest’s The camera will only iden- eos in remote data centers
first device to draw upon tify people you select also raises security con-
the same human-like skills through Nest’s app for cerns about the imagery
that Google has been pro- iPhones and Android de- being stolen by computer
gramming into its comput- vices. It won’t try to recog- hackers.
ers — for instance, to iden- nize anyone that an owner “It definitely could become
tify people in images via hasn’t tagged. Even if a a slippery slope,” Lynch
its widely used photo app. Nest Cam IQ video spies said.
Facebook deploys similar a burglar in a home, law The privacy issues already
technology to automati- enforcement officials will are thorny enough that
cally recognize and rec- have to identify the sus- Nest decided against of-
ommend tags of people in pect through their own in- fering the facial recogni-
photos posted on its social vestigation and analysis, tion technology in Illinois,
network. according to Nest. where state law forbids the
Nest can tap into Google’s PRIVACY CONCERNS collection and retention of
expertise in artificial intel- Facial recognition is be- an individual’s biometric in-
ligence because both coming more common formation without prior no-
companies are owned by on home-security camer- tification and written per-
the same parent compa- as. Netatmo , for instance, mission.
ny, Alphabet Inc. introduced a security cam- FURTHER DETAILS
With the new feature, you era touting a similar facial Nest’s $10-a-month sub-
could program the cam- recognition system in 2015. scription includes video
era to recognize a child, That camera sells for about storage for 10 days. Video
friend or neighbor, after $200, or $100 less than the can be stored up to 30
which it will send you noti- Nest Cam IQ. days with an upgrade to
fications about that person This photo provided by Nest Labs shows the Nest Cam IQ. The way that the Nest and a subscription plan costing
being in the home. Associated Press Netatmo cameras are be- $30 per month.
Nest isn’t saying much ing used doesn’t raise seri- The high-end camera sup-
about other potential uses ous privacy concerns be- plements lower-resolution
down the road, though cause they are only verify- indoor and outdoor cam-
one can imagine the to adjust the temperature to monitor their activi- ing familiar faces, not those eras that Nest will continue
camera recognizing when to what they prefer. Or it ties and send alerts when of complete strangers, said to sell for almost $200. Nei-
grandparents are visiting might be trained to keep a they’re doing something Jennifer Lynch, who spe- ther of the lower-end cam-
and notifying Nest’s inter- close eye on the kids when besides a list of approved cializes in biometrics as a eras is equipped for facial
net-connected thermostat they are home after school activities. senior staff attorney for the recognition.q

Doughnut delivery by drone in Denver is a peek at the future

P. SOLOMON BANDA drones flown from parking future this is how we’re go- lations. pedestrian mall.
Associated Press lots within a block of the ing to become a more ef- “We’re doing it com- Amazon and other com-
DENVER (AP) — Doughnuts delivery targets. ficient 21st century nation, pletely legal, we have panies have been test-
were delivered Wednes- LaMar’s spokesman Tami society quite frankly,” Han- very, very short deliveries ing autonomous drones
day by drone to Denver’s Osifodunrin said Federal cock said. from the drone where we for deliveries, while drone
mayor and the city’s po- Aviation Administration FAA officials said they were have a safe takeoff loca- maker Flirtey last year be-
lice and fire departments regulations prohibit com- investigating to ensure the tion and the landing area gan limited deliveries for
in an event that provided mercial drone pilots from deliveries followed federal is a Drone Dispatch team 7-Eleven in Reno, Nevada.
a glimpse into what com- losing sight of drones. rules governing commer- member who’s receiving The doughnuts were de-
panies hope will be a Denver Mayor Michael cial drone use in popu- the box of doughnuts,” livered as part of a week
quick, inexpensive way to Hancock was outside city lated areas. The FAA has said Chris Bonnet, CEO of of celebrating a tradition
get merchandise to cus- hall when a drone deliv- rules that govern drone Drone Dispatch. that dates to World War I,
tomers. ered doughnuts. altitude, proximity to air- The drones took off from where Salvation Army vol-
Denver’s LaMar’s Donuts “This is exciting stuff and I ports, and flying over peo- parking lots near the Den- unteers made doughnuts
hired Austin, Texas-based think as we get ready for ple who are not part of the ver City and County Build- for soldiers on the front
company Drone Dispatch not only drones in the air, crew flying the drone. The ing, the police depart- lines. National Doughnut
to deliver four boxes of and get ready for autono- organizers said they took ment, the fire department Day is celebrated the first
doughnuts using piloted mous vehicles, this is our care to comply with regu- and an alleyway near a Friday of every June.q