Axis Communications D2110-VE Security Radar Sensor

The Coolest Technology

OK, I'm just going to say it: this is the coolest invention I've seen in the past decade. Believe the hype. The product is far from flawless but, when it works properly, there's really nothing like it. This is a network security radar: it's basically a radar device that detects and identifies movement within a 200 foot radius of the device (with 180 degree coverage). It works in daylight, it works in pitch blackness of night, it works in any weather (although rain and snow make it work less precisely), and it detects and identifies movement quite accurately: humans, vehicles, other, etc. I have mine calibrated so that, in addition to cars, trucks, and humans, it does a remarkable job of picking up deer (eating my vegetables), bears, bobcats, bunny rabbits, and even a squirrel running across the street. This isn't a camera. You can use it as a standalone if you simply want to watch movement in and around your property in real time. You can have it send out mail alerts when there's movement along with an image showing where the movement is. And, if you're up for a bit of a technical challenge, you can integrate it with any security or alerting system. In my case, I have the radar send messages to an Axis network speaker to play different sounds as people approach closer to my property, but it would work just as well with any non-Axis device. Where this security radar really outperforms, though, is if you link it to an Axis PTZ camera and use it to focus the camera. I can watch that squirrel running across the street and have a separate camera zoom in and follow the squirrel in real time close up. It obviously works exceptionally well on humans and vehicles, too, if you aren't into watching squirrels (and you can select the type of object to monitor). Because the radar works in all conditions, the PTZ camera tracking is far better than anything you could achieve with just visual monitoring. Now for the bad news: This product isn't quite ready for prime time. It's definitely a bleeding-edge product, but it also feels like it's a bleeding-edge product at times. Buggy firmware resulted in three months where there was a 30-60 second lag on all radar detection. Buggy firmware is now causing events to not be triggered consistently, an issue I'm working with Axis customer support to fix. Initial calibration of the radar was nearly impossible on one of my radars -- you have to stand in front of the radar and walk in a straight direction, but the radar wouldn't detect my body until it was too late thereby placing the radar in the wrong location -- although recent firmware upgrades have dramatically simplified the process in the latest firmware. The hardware is rock solid, the technology is amazing, but Axis seems to be a company that believes in the Silicon Valley mantra of 'move quickly, break things, and fix them later' (even though they aren't based in Silicon Valley). This product could use a few more years of good quality assurance testing and fewer dramatic changes to firmware. But, when it works, it's just amazing.