Ring is launching a new Car Alarm which plugs into your vehicle’s OBD port, letting it push alerts to your phone should it detect intrusion. You can even hit a button on your phone to trigger a siren to deter any nefarious types from pinching your wheels. The new Car Cam, Car Alarm, and Car Connect systems integrate into the same Ring app that supports the company’s home security alarm, video doorbells, and security cameras, and they provide owners with alerts for attempted break-ins. The new products are slated for availability starting next year.
The $59.99 Car Alarm is the simplest of the devices it plugs into your car’s OBD-II diagnostic port and sends alerts to your phone when it detects a break-in, someone trying to tow the vehicle, or if another vehicle hits your car. The Car Alarm has a built-in siren that can be triggered remotely, and it can be linked to other Ring or Alexa devices to sound audible alerts when an event is detected.
For connectivity, the Car Alarm utilizes its parent company Amazon’s new Sidewalk network, which was announced last year and is starting to see some real products and development on it now. Amazon says Sidewalk will officially launch later this year.
The $199.99 Car Cam is Ring’s first camera for outside of the home and has the ability to record both inside and outside of the car. When mounted on a car’s dashboard, the Car Cam has a camera pointed out the front windshield and one that points toward the car’s interior. Like the Car Alarm, the Car Cam can send alerts whenever an event such as a break-in, towing, or accident is detected, and owners can tap into the cameras’ feeds to see what’s happening. The Car Cam relies on either Wi-Fi or LTE for connectivity.
Ring is also working on getting its technology integrated with newer vehicles that may already have built-in cameras. As well as a suite of APIs for manufacturers, the company has teamed up with Tesla to link the Model S, Y, X and 3 vehicles to Ring’s platform. Plug in a custom dongle over your Tesla’s USB ports and you’ll be able to upload Sentry Mode footage to Ring’s cloud for easier playback. Founder Jamie Siminoff said that the current situation, where the Tesla uses local removable storage for video, isn’t ideal if you need quick access to security footage.
There’s no word on when you’ll be able to buy them beyond at some point in 2021,
