Smile, You're on Wireless Webcam

XRay Vision kit can capture stills from up to 100 feet away and send them to the Net.

by Stan Miastkowski, special to PC World
December 13, 1999, 6:00 a.m. PT

It may not see through walls, but X10's new XRay Vision video camera kit has pretty good long-range vision. The kit allows you to automatically capture video images (and accompanying sound) up to 100 feet away from your PC, and to view the content remotely via the Internet.

Available immediately, the kit sells for $199.99.

XRay Vision uses X10's CMOS XCam Anywhere, a standard NTSC video indoor/outdoor miniature color camera, with a built-in microphone connected by a 12-foot cable to a wireless 2.4-GHz transmitter. Meanwhile, an external receiver connects to your PC via a USB port. (Both transmitter and receiver need AC power.)

The XRay Vision kit includes software for photo capture and for remote viewing of the camera images over the Internet. The basics allow you to attach captured images to e-mail or upload them to a Web site. You can also select the interval of the camera's image captures (from every few seconds to every few hours), as well as save a local database of images.

X10 is also touting the security aspects of the XRay Vision. The software allows the camera to send an e-mail message when it detects motion in a certain area, such as a supposedly vacant home or office. You can then access the camera images via a remote Internet connection to see if it's your dog or an intruder who triggered the camera.