If you think that scientific exploration has covered every aspect of our lives, well think again! Traditional home surveillance methods normally include locks and maybe an alarm system and cameras. Well, Alex Pachikov, ex Evernote executive and CEO of Sunflower Labs seems to think there is quite a lot of room for improvement. Here is how the Sunflower system may be innovating the way we secure our homes.

Cute Name, Disturbing Game?

The name for the company (Sunflower Labs) and its products (the Sunflower sensors and the Bee drones) are all inspired by things we find in the garden. That may seem very cute, but their functions, which are autonomous, may be disturbing for some. With all the privacy scandals against big companies such as Apple, Facebook, and Google, some may think it is not wise to leave our home surveillance to autonomous machines.

The Sunflower sensors that are camouflaged as garden lights are built to detect vibrations near the home and can differentiate between the whir of your coffee machine, pets, and footsteps. The ‘Sunflowers’ around all corners of the ground outside the home so that it can create maps and also sense the people and objects present within the space. The kicker, however, is that the sunflower system includes a drone, named the ‘Bee,’ which flies out from its station called the ‘Hive,’ all by itself. The Bee leaves the Hive and flies around the home if any suspicious activity has been discovered, using the Sunflowers that have been installed to establish a pathway. Moreover, it uses the sensors and built-in cameras in order to avoid any object that may come in the way during flight.  It streams live footage on your tablet or phone, which is automatically saved on the cloud system later on. It can be manually deployed if the homeowner gets an alert from the Sunflower sensors and lands. The homeowner will have to press the relevant button in the Sunflower app, signalling the drone to dock all by itself to the Hive, which also works as a wireless charger.

Who Can Use This?

It is evident that such a sophisticated home surveillance product would not be affordable to the general public. The CEO says that the Sunflower Labs will soon be offering this device on a subscription base to the wealthy homeowners residing in the suburbs of California. It may become affordable for the general public if the costs get subsidized, but for now only the elite can afford this system. This arrangement works for Sunflower Labs, as the Federal Aviation Administration does not allow drones to be flown out in public. Thus, lawn owners in suburban areas are the suitable target audience for this system.

Can It Be Trusted?

With the recent allegations of smart home devices listening to and recording conversations without obtaining permission, hacking of several accounts, and the leak of private information, it may not be the best option to trust technology to maintain our privacy.