The next time one of your security cams sees a visitor at your door or a package being delivered, Alexa can be the first to tell you.
Alexa person and package detection announcements are rolling out now, according to Amazon, and the feature will also include the ability to automatically view a live camera feed on your Echo Show, Fire TV, or Fire Tablet whenever a person or package is detected. You’ll also get mobile notifications from the Alexa app.
The new feature isn’t limited to Ring video doorbells and security cameras. Thanks to Amazon’s new Alexa Object Detection Sensor API, Alexa person and package detection can also work with other Alexa-compatible cams, even those from Google (it’s easy to forget that there is, in fact, a Google skill for Alexa).
Initially, the Alexa person/package announcements are available on all Ring Video Doorbells and cameras in the “Works with Alexa” program (which includes brands such as Ecobee, TP-Link, and Wemo), but “soon” they’ll also be enabled for Abode Iota and Outdoor cameras, the Google Nest Cam (including the outdoor and both wired and battery-powered indoors versions), the Nest Cam with floodlight, and the battery-powered Nest Doorbell.
Besides Abode and Google, other manufacturers will be able to bake in Alexa person and package announcements using the new API, provided that their Alexa-enabled cameras support the H.264 video codec and offer at least 720p video resolution.
To get Alexa person and package announcements, your camera might require a subscription that includes person/people detection. For Ring, that means signing up for Ring Protect, which includes person and package detection starting at $3 a month or $30 a year, while Abode’s plans start at $7 a month. Google doesn’t charge anything for basic people and package detection, but you’ll need a Nest Aware subscription to tap the company’s more advanced algorithms.
You can enable Alexa person and package announcements from the Alexa app; just navigate to your camera by tapping Devices > Cameras, then toggle on the Person Detection Announcements and/or Package Detection Announcements settings.
