GADGET: Cocoon Indoor Home Security Camera System, with Whole Home Motion Detection
TECH SPECS: Two cameras, Alexa compatible, cloud storage included 
PRICE: $288.27 (about Rs 20,725) + $15.75 (approximately Rs 1,130) for shipping
BEST FOR: Watching over an empty house

Are you planning a long holiday out of town during Durga Puja but worried about burglars sneaking into your locked home? To ramp up security, you could deploy a CCTV camera that would keep sending feed to your mobile phone all the while you are away. If you use it with a video analytic device, it can escalate things if anything goes wrong (say, an intruder lurking around your back door). The problem is, nowadays burglars are smart enough to disable the camera before they break in.

It would be best to go for a new generation home security system that could outwit the sneakiest intruder. The brainchild of a Britain-based start-up, Cocoon seems the right device, equipped with both beauty and brains. The system uses subsonic or infrasonic sensing to listen to things that people can’t hear. Scientists use a similar technology to detect quakes or tremors. The subsound technology, however, is coupled with machine learning to understand normal activities in the house (such as pet movement, whirling of a washing machine or roaring of a kitchen chimney) and sense anything odd, such as a break in. It can be aware of activity across the entire floor of a house or an apartment from a single vantage point. It’s capable of detecting activity beyond what you can see, as its subsonic sensor picks up sounds and vibrations through walls. Each device is equipped with a HD camera, a highly sensitive camera, a motion detector, thermometer and a very loud siren (90 decibels) to scare intruders and alert people in your locality.
 

The Cocoon looks unobtrusive, with a smart spherical design that can merge with modern décor. It’s available in both black and white. You can place it in a central area in the house. Connect it to the WiFi using an app in your mobile phone and look at live feeds from your home while you are on holiday. Incidentally, it’s smart enough to sense when you are out of the house. It records video, posts it in the cloud and warns you of anything unusual. You can then sound the alarm or call the police. 

Not just when you are away, it can be your eyes and ears even when you are home, but just to tired to investigate that suspicious sound. It is the perfect night watchman, too. It can be connected to multiple phones, of other family members, turning them into security devices.

VERDICT: All said and done, the system is quite expensive. You have to get it imported at a premium price. Especially with the falling rupee, it costs a fortune. However, if you have a big house and can afford it, you must get this. 

POP PICK 

Other security cameras

• Canary: This new generation security cam is not equipped with a subsonic sensor. It’s smarter when it comes to grabbing video and sending clips, if triggered for 24 hours. However, if you need to get clips for any longer you need to pay a small membership fee. If you focus on watching, and not hearing, you can get Canary and place a few in every nook and corner of your home. In short, it’s a smart security camera. 
Price: $120 (about Rs 8,630)

• Nest Cam: This one provides a WiFi security camera that gives you crystal clear video clips, including night vision and 8X digital zoom. Just like Cocoon, it senses unusual noises and sends alerts to your smartphone whenever it detects anything unusual at your home. One advantage (or disadvantage) is that you can talk to anyone in the room from a remote location. If you want to save the video clips, you need to pay an extra fee.
Price:  $ 375 for a pack of three cameras (about Rs 26,970)