After Nest's motion sensors, Google now wants an eye into home

May 27, 2014 07:18 GMT  ·  By

Google seems to be quite serious about its plans to get involved in the Internet of things and particularly in entering the homes of millions.

Now, it looks like the company is interested in acquiring Dropcam, a connected camera startup that could really come in handy for Nest Labs, which Google bought recently.

According to The Information, the Internet giant has been considering acquiring Dropcam, although there’s no information about the status of the negotiations or the price they’re discussing.

The startup sells $150 (€110) cameras that can stream footage to phones and computers, which makes them perfect for home security. Dropcam was created back in 2009 with funding from Mitch Kapor, an angel investor. The total amount that the company managed to raise through funding was $47.8 million (€35 million).

Considering the fact that Dropcam has recently announced the introduction of a feature that enables the cameras to detect people moving through the home where the device is activated, it’s safe to say that Google and Nest want to take their partnership to the next level – home security.

The system set up by Dropcam involves connecting the devices with the cloud. The software is supposed to immediately send alerts to the smartphone apps or to the email addresses attached to the account. The company’s subscription product lets people record up to seven days’ worth of video from Dropcam which can be reviewed at any time, while separate clips can be saved.

The new feature is supposed to arrive to customers in early August. The company has also announced a new motion sensor accessory, called “Tabs,” which can track movement and motion thanks to the three-axis accelerometer and the three-axis magnetometer it comes with.

If the reports are confirmed, it’s clear that Google is trying to strengthen its efforts to get involved into building the smart home along with Nest and many of its other tools. In fact, Nest, which it acquired several months ago for $3.2 billion ((€ 2.34 billion), has already created smart thermostats that you can control from afar and which can learn your habits and adjust the room temperatures as you prepare to go home.

Nest also has a smart smoke detector, but there have been some technical problems with that device in recent months.

While Google’s plans are certainly ambitious, it remains to be seen whether people are ready for this type of integration of the Internet giant’s tools into their homes due to privacy concerns.

The purchase of Nest has caused quite a bit of controversy and many users of the home automation products have vowed to stop using them as a sign of protest against the acquisition, mostly due to the severe threat to their privacy that comes along with letting Google into your home.