Typical home security cameras only document crime. A burglar triggers the camera when they breach your perimeter, and the camera records what happens. Some cameras boast extra features – they can set off a local siren, send you a notification, or even let you yell at the intruder – but all too often, the incident will be over before you’re aware of what’s going on.
Another option are classical home security systems with professional monitoring. They typically don’t react until a thief has already gained access to your home, setting off motion sensors in doors or windows. Police resources are limited, so to avoid producing false alarms, the professionals monitoring these systems will attempt to contact you first, and then a second or third contact on your list, to ask if you know what’s going on at your home. They’ll call the police eventually, but a lot of bad things can happen in the interim.
The Future of Home Surveillance is Here…
Deep Sentinel combines the best of all worlds. Notifications of suspicious activity are sent to human beings whose entire jobs are to monitor and, if appropriate, respond to them. They’ll use two-way audio to order a potential thief to leave the area, and they will call a police dispatcher if needed.
This system actively deters burglaries, before they happen
The Deep Sentinel starter pack consists of three wireless, battery-powered cameras that create a perimeter around your home. A team of remote Deep Sentinel guards has access to each camera’s live feed. As the cameras’ sensors detect movement from people, animals, cars, and other things on and around your property, AI algorithms process the data to determine what activity is suspicious and what isn’t.
If something is deemed suspicious, the camera turns on its ring of strobing red lights, starts recording video (which is saved to a local hub wired to your network), and pushes a live feed to a Deep Sentinel Surveillance Agent. This person monitors the activity and decides whether or not to take action. Someone delivering a package might not warrant a response, but someone taking a package definitely would. Should the agent decide to intervene, they can either activate the camera’s built-in 104-decibel siren to ward off the intruder or ask them what they’re up to using the camera’s two-way speaker.
If the intrusion escalates into an actual crime, the agent can notify local police, and most crucially according to Deep Sentinel founder and CEO David Selinger, give them an accurate description of the person and the particulars of the suspected crime.
Setup and performance
The Deep Sentinel kit comes with three security cameras that have a 130-degree field of view, 1080p resolution, night vision, and two-way audio. The kit also includes a hub and its power cable, three mounting brackets, and a lawn sign and window stickers that let folks know Deep Sentinel has been deployed on the premises.
The first step is to download the Deep Sentinel app to your phone, as it will guide you through much of the setup process. Then connect the hub to your router with an ethernet cable and power it on.
If you’re mounting the cameras on a wooden surface, you’ll only need the supplied screwdriver, but if you’re installing them in masonry you’ll need to bring your drill as well.
After each camera is installed, the app prompts you to set a “protection zone” of up to 30 feet. This involves shaping a boundary box around the area you want the AI to monitor.
During the setup, you’ll also enter your home address and contact information for local law enforcement, so that Deep Sentinel agents can get the right responders to the right location in the event of a crime. The final step is “agent validation.” Stand in front of a camera and make an “A” formation with your arms over your head. An agent will respond over the speaker to confirm your system is up and running.
Deep Sentinel app
Once the Deep Sentinel system is running, you can check in at any time using the app. The home screen provides most of the details you need to know, including the connection status of the cameras and hub, a carousel of recent events, and the name of the agent currently monitoring your feed. In the History section of the app, you can search all your recorded clips by event type, guard action, or camera location.
If you don’t want a second set of eyes on things, there is a privacy feature you can activate in the app that hides the camera feeds from the guards while keeping them visible to you. When this is activated, the system will function more like other Wi-Fi security cameras, where the onus is on you to respond to activity notifications pushed to your phone.
Pricing
The Deep Sentinel hardware kit costs $499, plus $49 per month with a one-year contract for the LiveSentinel monitoring service.
Billing starts 30 days after you purchase the system, and the company’s return policy allows you to return the equipment within 30 days for a refund if you’re not satisfied.
While the monthly fee is higher than ADT – who charges $39.99 per month for their premium monitoring package – bear in mind the Deep Sentinel system blends predictive local artificial intelligence, real-time human intervention, and next-generation wireless cameras to provide a product and service that goes beyond anything on the market today.
Our verdict
Deep Sentinel is partially funded by Jeff Bezos, so you know they’re up to something good…
It isn’t a perfect security solution, as its cameras only monitor the exterior of your home. The absence of door and window sensors, means that an intruder who successfully evades the cameras could break into your home and not trigger an alarm at all.
Despite this lack of indoor sensors, Deep Sentinel is a unique and very innovative camera-based home security system with live monitoring. It’s the difference between catching a burglar, and catching a burglar before he’s in your home. That’s the power of man and machine working together – and it will do more to protect your home than any other DIY system we’ve evaluated.
