Ring announces a security camera and alarm for your car
You'll be able to link your car to your Ring app via the ODB-II port.
Ring knows that it’s conquered the world of home security, and now it’s setting its sights on protecting your car. The Amazon-owned company is launching a new Car Alarm which plugs into your vehicle’s OBD port, letting it push alerts to your phone should it detect intrusion. You can even hit a button on your phone to trigger a siren to deter any nefarious types from pinching your wheels.
A sensor is nothing without a camera, which is why Ring will also sell you a dashcam. The Car Cam will offer a Tesla-esque Sentry Mode, that lets you know of bumps and break-ins, with real-time alerts and footage. For wireless connectivity, you’ll need an LTE plan, but do so and you can see Alexa alerts all over the world.
The Car Cam won’t simply keep watch over your car while it’s parked on your driveway, or on the side of the road at home. When you’re driving around, you can use it as a dash cam, and Emergency Crash Assist, calling the emergency services when it detects a serious crash. More importantly, if you get pulled over, you can just say “Alexa, I’m being pulled over” and the camera will record the entire interaction to the cloud.
Some of the features for Ring’s new automotive projects are going to leverage Amazon Sidewalk, a low-power networking technology for IoT devices.
Ring is also working on getting its technology integrated with newer vehicles that may already have built-in cameras. As well as a suite of APIs for manufacturers, the company has teamed up with Tesla to link the Model S, Y, X and 3 vehicles to Ring’s platform. Plug in a custom dongle over your Tesla’s USB ports and you’ll be able to upload Sentry Mode footage to Ring’s cloud for easier playback. Founder Jamie Siminoff said that the current situation, where the Tesla uses local removable storage for video, isn’t ideal if you need quick access to security footage.
The Ring Car Alarm will cost $60, while the Car Cam and Car Connect (for Tesla vehicles) are both priced at $200. There’s no word on when you’ll be able to buy them beyond at some point in 2021,