A new security camera from Baseus has a clever idea: instead of passively observing passersby, it tries to actively deter would-be thieves by shining a spotlight on them as they move. Called the PrimeSentinel U2 Pro, it’s available to preorder for $280 on Amazon and begins shipping in early November.
The U2 Pro features two separate cameras. One is a fixed, 3K-resolution camera with 8x digital zoom, while the other is located on the bottom of the device with the spotlight and mechanically pans and tilts. Unlike the usual floodlight approach, which fills an entire area with light, the U2 Pro’s spotlight casts a sharply-defined rectangle on people when it detects them, then tracks them, using two passive infrared (PIR) sensors and AI recognition.
The spotlight can track people from between three meters to eight meters away, moving at up to about six feet per second, or roughly a light jogging pace, according to Baseus’ specs. If they’re sprinting at 16 feet per second, Baseus says the U2 Pro can follow them from between five and eight meters away. And at eight meters, it can even track a vehicle driving close to 19 mph. It’s a very unique feature that I haven’t seen elsewhere in the smart home camera world. It’s more than a little unnerving, but the creep factor is the point, of course, as it could deter people more than generally lighting an area might.
The AI part of this raises some questions for me that aren’t answered by the materials Baseus provided. For instance, does the camera’s tracking occur on-device? If not, does that mean it requires a fast, stable internet connection (via its 2.4GHz or 5GHz Wi-Fi radios) to function? How does Baseus secure the data that powers the feature? How long does Baseus keep that data on its servers? I’ve emailed to ask the company and will update if it responds.
Beyond the spotlight feature, the U2 Pro has solid camera specs. It’s battery-powered and comes with a 3W solar panel, which the company says can power it for up to a day with just 40 minutes of sunlight. Its main camera features a 130-degree field of view, which is comparable to something like the Eufy Floodlight Camera E340, but better than, say, the 140-degree horizontal FOV of the Ring Floodlight Cam Pro. The U2 Pro features color night vision, a built-in siren, and a microphone and speaker for two-way talking.
The U2 Pro can accommodate up to a 512GB microSD card, and there’s no subscription plan for cloud video storage. The camera features person, vehicle, and pet detection as well—it doesn’t explicitly have package detection, although cloud AI-powered video summaries can apparently tell you if a package was delivered. Lastly, the company says it’s IP65-rated, meaning it’s dustproof and can withstand jets of water.
The Baseus PrimeSentinel U2 Pro is available to preorder on Amazon for $280.
