After spending some time in early access, SimpliSafe’s Active Guard Outdoor Protection feature is now available to the public. Using AI technology in conjunction with its team of security experts, Active Guard Outdoor Protection is designed to detect and stop crime before it happens. It’s available on the new Outdoor Security Camera Series 2, though you’ll need to enroll in a monthly membership to get full use of the service.
SimpliSafe isn’t new to the world of AI-powered crime prevention, as you’ll already find a similar feature on the Smart Alarm Wireless Indoor Camera. That functionality is great — but if an indoor camera is picking up intruders, it means they’ve already made it inside your home. The Outdoor Security Camera Series 2 and Active Guard Outdoor Protection are looking to fix that, as the system can react to threats and alert SimpliSafe agents within 30 seconds of catching a motion event.
When your system is armed, the camera will use AI to detect human movement on your property. If it detects a person, it’ll use a face-matching system to determine if the person matches a Familiar Face in your system (that is, someone like a family member or trusted neighbor).
If a match isn’t detected, the event will be escalated to a professional monitoring service, where a trained security agent can intervene with two-way audio. They can also trigger the camera’s built-in alarm or request assistance from local authorities.
In short, it sounds like a pretty robust system that should give users added peace of mind. It does, however, come with a fairly hefty price tag.
The Outdoor Security Camera Series 2 costs $200. You’ll also need to sign up for one of two monitoring plans. SimpliSafe’s Pro Plan costs $50 per month and gets you Core indoor protection, 24/7 professional monitoring, and overnight outdoor protection (between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time). The Pro Plus Plan costs $70 and extends your outdoor protection to 24/7 coverage.
That’s a bit pricey, but it’s aligned with other brands that offer professional monitoring.
The Outdoor Security Camera Series 2 looks like a great piece of hardware as well, as it’s equipped with enhanced night vision, HD video, a 140-degree field of view, and an onboard 90dB siren. SimpliSafe says the camera can capture details up to 15 feet away regardless of lighting conditions. Most importantly, it uses the unique Active Guard Outdoor Protection feature to identify and stop crimes before they occur.