Cloud Camera

Got myself a cloud camera a few days ago.

There are quite a number brands and models available in the market, but in the end opt for a D-Link cloud camera. Below are some of the features of the camera: 

• Remotely control the pan & tilt of the camera from PC or mobile phones
• Zero-light infrared sensor, allowing to see up to 8 meters in the dark
• Sound and motion detection alert
• 4x digital zoom

And it was quite easy to set up the camera. Just need to configure it to my home Internet network and link the device to a web-based online application and I am ready to use/control the camera from my PC. For the mobile phones, the applications are available to download for both Android and iPhone mobile phones.

The video feed from the camera to my PC/mobile devices is almost real-time, and the picture and video quality is quite clear. As long as both the router signal is strong for the source (camera at home) and the Internet connection is optimum at the receiving devices (PC, mobile devices), you can get a decent video feed. The audio and video data captured from the camera will pass through the router/modem and it goes to a centralised temporary storage (cloud), which will then feed the receiving devices for viewing. When the user swipe the device screen left/right to pan and up/down to tilt the camera, the data is now reversely sent from the receiving/viewing devices back to the cloud and transmit the instruction to the camera the perform the required tasks.

Primarily, the cloud cameras are used for home security surveillance, but it can also be used as a baby monitor or spying tool. Whatever the reasons people use cloud camera, security of the camera itself will always be an issue, as hackers are able to hack to remote devices and take control of the camera, which leads to breach of privacy of the camera owners.