Having an intercom system at home may seem like something just for the rich and famous, but every day, families can benefit from the tech.
For example, parents may want to call kids busy in the playroom to dinner or have their partner give them a quick hand with something. It's even better if family members can also check in to see what is happening in the next room.
Launched on Thursday at Lowe's, Nucleus is the new smart home intercom system that consists of a touchscreen tablet that serves as a modern-day walkie talkie with the ability to audio and video chat in-home with those in other rooms, as well as those miles away between homes or with any mobile device. That means grandma can still feel a part of her grandchild's life while teaching them some baking skills, and parents can check in on their sleeping baby while working in the home office or when taking a moment for themselves.
Nucleus has a wide-angle front-facing HD camera to get a complete view of a room, with the ability to cover the lens for privacy, and has a microphone built-in with speakers. The intercom connects to other devices via Wi-Fi or an Ethernet cable and can pair with any iOS or Android device via its accompanying app.
The Nucleus is easy to install and comes with a wall mount to a desktop stand, depending on where the user wants to place it in their home. The intercom system is also simple to use, with the user connecting to Wi-Fi and then creating a family network and customized room names for each device.
Then, the user just needs to tap a button to communicate (after approving phone numbers). Users control all of their incoming calls with options to auto-answer, touch to answer, set a do not disturb mode and now answer using their voice.
The company announced support for Amazon's voice assistant to making it one of the few Alexa-enabled touchscreen devices available.
With Alexa integration, families can use their Nucleus hands-free. This can be especially helpful for parents who currently have their hands literally full at the moment but want to check on the baby or make sure they don't miss that face-to-face time with a relative. The company is also working on allowing users to make or receive calls using the Alexa skill in the future.
Nucleus users can tap into Alexa's capabilities by asking the digital assistant, "Alexa, what is the weather," or telling her to add bread and milk to the grocery list.
Users will also be able to use their voice to enable Prime Music, iHeartRadio and TuneIn, as well as other Alexa skills.
"Integrating Alexa into Nucleus was a natural fit," said Steve Rabuchin, Vice President of Amazon
Alexa said in a press release. "Voice and the Alexa services provide an easy way for families to stay organized, manage their busy lives and have fun. We opened up AVS to device makers and developers for free and it's exciting to see Nucleus take advantage of the service and bring their innovative technology into homes."
Adding a touchscreen home gadget to its list of Amazon's Alexa-enable devices comes after support for the digital assistant was just announced for the August smart lock.
Those looking to pick up a Nucleus can head over to Lowe's or purchase the device from Lowes.com or Amazon.com. Nucleus retails for $249 for one device, or $199 when buying two or more.
