topic Re: Detecting motion behind glass in Arlo Ultra

Detecting motion behind glass

snowPhoenix — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 00:00:45 GMT

I have read from older posts that Arlo Ultra uses PIR to detect motion; and because of this, the Arlo Ultra can't be used behind glass. However, there was a firmware release (1.15.0.1_244_c345a43 that was released on 2-Dec-2019) that allowed my Arlo Ultra's to detect and record motion behind glass! When the next firmware release (1.15.0.4_297_aa40f04 that was released on 18-Dec-2019) was installed, the "through glass" motion detection stopped working.

If the "through glass" motion detection was enabled on a version of firmware, why can't this feature to a use settable option?

I don't want to place my Arlo Ultra outside where someone can come along and take it... which leads to me my next question: Why doesn't Arlo make bracket (or mount) for the camera that can be secured? Wasserstein makes a "security bracket" for the Arlo Ultra, but you can easily push the "eject camera" button, making the item completely useless.

Re: Detecting motion behind glass

JamesC — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 17:31:50 GMT

snowPhoenix,

While it's not impossible to detect motion through glass, it's not likely to behave consistently or reliably. For more information on detecting motion through glass, take a look here: Does motion detection work through glass or windows?

JamesC

Re: Detecting motion behind glass

snowPhoenix — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 20:46:36 GMT

Thanks for the reply, JamesC!

In the link that you provided, it seems to imply that the Arlo Ultra does (or can) use a frame by frame comparison.. but this does not seem to be the case.

"Frame-by-frame comparison, the type of motion detection used by Arlo Ultra, Arlo Q, Arlo Q Plus, and Arlo Baby, sometimes detects false positives due to moving reflections in glass surfaces."

I would be fine with false positives due to moving reflections in the glass surfaces.. since I've placed my cameras in (mostly) unused rooms.