AI is already crafting natural-language summaries of what Amazon’s Ring and Google’s Nest cameras are seeing, and now the AI-generated descriptions are coming to Blink cameras, too.
Slated to begin rolling out today in beta to U.S. users, Blink Video Descriptions will employ AI to analyze the video events captured by Blink security cameras and then generate descriptions of what’s happening.
The feature, which will work with all existing Blink cameras and doorbells, will start off as a free preview for “select” Blink Basic and Plus subscribers, according to a Blink spokesperson.
In a Blink promotional clip, an AI-generated description for an event video reads, “A person in a red shirt is riding a bike in front of a white house,” which pretty much summarizes what’s happening in the video.
The videos descriptions are “designed to only deliver the most relevant information” and will “focus on describing the main subject that caused a motion alert and what action they are taking,” Blink said.
Blink Video Descriptions are similar to the AI summaries generated by Ring’s Smart Video Search, which rolled out to Ring subscribers more than a year ago. Both Blink and Ring are owned by Amazon.
Google has also rolled out its own generative-AI video descriptions powered by Gemini, while other security cam manufacturers (such as Eufy) have their own versions of the technology.
For now, Blink Video Descriptions apply only to individual video events. In contrast, Google’s Gemini for Home can also generate “Daily Briefs” that summarize your daily smart home activity, including motion events captured by Nest cameras.
In addition, Blink Video Descriptions are not searchable, as are the AI descriptions rendered by Ring’s Smart Video Search feature.
One issue with Blink Video Descriptions that remains up in the air is whether it will require a subscription once it’s out of beta, with a Blink spokesperson telling me that “we don’t have any details to share on subscription requirements for Blink Video Descriptions at this time.”
Blink offers two paid subscription tiers: a $3.99-a-month Basic plan that offers 60 days of video history, AI-powered person and vehicle detection, and other features for a single Blink camera, and a $11.99/month plan covers all your Blink cameras while adding an extended warranty.
Updated shorty after publication to add that Blink Basic as well as Blink Plus subscribers are included in the public preview for Blink Video Descriptions.
This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best security cameras.
Author: Ben Patterson
Source: PCWorld
Reviewed By: Editorial Team
