The era of fixed security cameras and expensive monthly fees for home security systems are now a thing of the past. Startups such as iSmartAlarm and Dropcam have entered the home security industry, introducing wireless cameras that allow you to monitor your home remotely with either a one-time purchasing fee or fixed-period cloud storage fees on top of the cost of the camera.
CamPoint, a start-up that aims to improve upon existing wireless home security systems, has just launched an Indiegogo campaign to crowdfund its eponymously-named wireless device. The nifty device connects wirelessly with a range of security cameras, and can be controlled remotely by an app on your iOS or Android smartphone.
What puts CamPoint ahead of its other home security rivals, claims CamPoint founder Jason Wang, is the use of a smart algorithm that quickly analyzes and learns what events that are captured on camera are normal events, and what events would be classified as unusual activity. For example, motion-sensor activated home-security system are not pet-friendly; presumably, every time your dog walks across the room, the camera would pick up such motion and send you an alert.
With CamPoint, when events such as pet activity is initially detected, footage of the event and an alert would be sent to the user’s smartphone. The user can then watch the footage remotely and classify that pet movement counts as normal activity. CamPoint’s rapid-learning algorithm then learns and remembers the classification for such movements, ensuring that users will not receive a false alarm each time Rusty the terrier decides to prance about the living room when everyone else is out having dinner.
Other features of CamPoint include being powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core CPU, which means that all computation and storing of footage can be done locally on the 8GB internal SD card that comes with it or to another storage device of your choice when you’re at home. This eliminates the need for costly cloud storage fees as well as erases privacy concerns that come with storing large amounts personal home footage on the cloud.
The geo-fencing function that comes with CamPoint can also automatically detect when you leave your home; when an unusual activity occurs, this footage will then be uploaded automatically to the cloud, preventing tampering by intruders and unauthorized individuals.
Pledges for just the CamPoint device will start at $149 for super early birds, whereas those who are interested in CamPoint as well as a CamPoint Camera can pledge $189 to get a set at their Indiegogo campaign.
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