Is grandpa lying helpless with a broken leg? Maybe a stroke so he can’t call. Safer living in a nursing home? Although he prefers to stay in his old home. One way is to mount one or more cameras so that relatives can see in their mobile phones that everything is OK. So placed that privacy is not compromised.

There are a number of products to choose from. Illustrated here with the TP-Link C200 from Tapo in China. Costs around Eur 30-40.

You need:

• Router for the broadband, set to the frequency 2.4 GHz.
• Electricity 220 V, where the battery eliminator is connected. Therefore not suitable outdoors.
• With relatives: mobile phone/tablet for Android/Apple IOS.

Info:

Image resolution and sensor: The camera is equipped with an image sensor that offers a resolution of up to 1080p. The sensor captures detailed images and video with good color reproduction and sharpness. By connecting the camera to a Wi-Fi network, the relative can remotely control and monitor the camera from a mobile app or computer.

Mobile application: To use the camera, relatives need to download and install the Tapo app on your smartphone. The app allows this to configure the camera, access live video streams, record videos and set various monitoring functions.

Pan and tilt: The camera has motorized pan and tilt, which means you can remotely control the camera’s movement from the app. This allows relatives to adjust the camera’s view and cover a larger area without physically moving the camera.

Motion detection: The camera is equipped with a built-in motion detector that can detect movement in its field of view. When detected movement is detected, the camera sends a notification to the relative’s smartphone via the app, so that the latter is made aware of unusual events.

Night vision: The camera also has infrared LED lights that enable night vision. When the light becomes weak, the infrared lights are activated to be able to film in the dark. This allows relatives to monitor your home even when it is completely dark.

Storage: The C200 can record video clips and save them in various ways. It supports a built-in microSD card slot, where you can insert a memory card for local storage. Additionally, one can use cloud storage services to safely save your recorded videos online.

/ By Ingemar Lindmark