Anker’s new MindBase is an AI-powered brain for your smart home

Anker is launching the Eufy MindBase, a local AI hub for its security cameras that runs an on-device, Anker-developed LLM, which the company says can process your footage without it ever leaving your home. It’s also announcing a handful of other smart home security products at the IFA tech show in Berlin this week, including the TrackLight Cam S1, the S4 video doorbell, and a window camera.

Pitched as the “central brain for the home,” the MindBase is not just for Eufy security cameras; Anker is positioning it as a whole-home connectivity solution with on-device compute and local storage. Security is the first use case, but the company plans to add an energy agent for your home’s power, a clean agent for your robot vacuums, and more. Anker hasn’t revealed the price or release date yet.

Eufy got into trouble a few years back for claiming its cameras were end-to-end encrypted when they weren’t always. It has since overhauled its systems, focusing on local storage and end-to-end encryption.

Anker says the MindBase will be a Matter controller, running Matter 1.5, and will support over 40 Matter device categories, including lights, sensors, and HVAC systems. Eufy Security spokesperson Janet Jin told The Verge they plan to integrate Matter-compatible third-party cameras.

The MindBase has dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Thread, and Zigbee and will work with Apple’s HomeKit Secure Video, meaning connected cameras can work with Apple’s smart home system. It can also connect to Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Home Assistant.

It will support 16 wireless cameras and four wired cameras, along with 34 sensors. This includes a new Smart Security Shield sensor that uses 180-degree dual radar to detect movement. Anker says it will work with a digital credential stored on household members’ phones to recognize friends and family and reduce unnecessary alerts.

With up to 48TB of expandable storage and a dedicated AI chip, the MindBase can process events directly for advanced AI features, including natural-language search across recordings and event summaries, without a monthly fee. It also supports smart alerts for facial recognition, people, car, pet, and stranger detection.

One of the first products designed to work with MindBase is the upcoming Anker Eufy TrackLight Cam S1, which will be part of an Anker MindBase Security Kit. Anker says this is an active-deterrence camera with an auto-tracking light, 180-degree dual-radar detection, and 4K resolution. Anker says Mindbase will also support a wide range of existing security cameras, such as eufyCam S4.

Anker’s new wired Eufy S4 video doorbell, launching this week, will be compatible with Mindbase. The S4’s other party trick is an “immersive virtual reality (VR)-inspired mobile experience,” according to the company. It shows panoramic footage in the Eufy app allowing you to look around the scene by moving your smartphone.

The S4 will cost $299.99 and features a 180-by-180 panoramic field of view, AI-powered tracking and auto-zoom, and 3K-capable recording. It has 64GB of onboard storage, supports Wi-Fi 6, uses a combination of radar and PIR for motion detection.

A $70 window camera arrives later this year. The E10 is designed for people who can’t install security cameras outside and sticks to the inside of a window to record in full-color night vision. It has on-device person and sound detection.

The company also has a new mmWave fall detection sensor. The Eufy Fall Detection Sensor (no price or release date) can be mounted on a wall or ceiling to detect falls and will automatically initiate a voice check after a detected fall or prolonged inactivity. It supports two-way communication and its self-monitoring features don’t require a subscription.