Canary: redefining home security systems

I have just received the first update from smartphone controlled home security device Canary via the Indiegogo crowdfunding site, where it has become one of the most successful projects: with just 30 days to go before the fundraising campaign ends, it has already generated almost 80 percent of the 100,000 dollars originally asked for, as well as having sold all of the two lower-priced versions (149 and 169 dollars respectively; early adopters must now pay a minimum of 199 dollars). The device has already been featured on sites such as TheNextWeb, GigaOM, Mashable, TheVerge, and many others.

Canary is a multisensory device, very much in line with the so-called internet of things trend related to smartphones. It is a 15-centimeter high, seven centimeter diameter cylinder in white, black, or silver that you connect to your wifi and manage through an app on your smartphone, allowing you to see what is going on in your home or office through a high-definition, night vision camera, as well as listening in through a microphone. It is also possible to receive alarms if the device detects any movement, change in temperature, smoke, or humidity.

Canary’s sensors are much more, well, sensitive, than the devices used by security firms, and can be monitored by the user with absolute simplicity and transparency. It is as simple as deciding where to place it. The device allows you to monitor your property at any time, whether or not you have received an alarm, and then take the decision whether to call the police, set off an alarm, or any other course of action.

Conventional alarm systems controlled by security companies require the installment of sensors throughout a premises by experts, as well as monthly payments, and in the case of camera systems, the concern that they can be turned on at any time by remote control by strangers in a call center without your knowledge.

There are already alarm systems that can be monitored via a web page or a smartphone application, but Canary stands out from the competition. With most systems, when the alarm goes off, the security company has to contact the user, who then has to make a decision on secondhand and incomplete information. The company has the option to apply its experience in such cases, and to advise the user, but the decision to call the police must be made by the user.

Canary instead offers the user total independence: you can monitor your premises when you like, and decide what to do based on your reading of the situation. Furthermore, the system learns to recognize certain faces over time, and can distinguish between people and pets.

Needless to say, there are many alternatives when it comes to protecting your property: from handmade systems, the use of specialist webcams, or systems that allow you to activate an iPhone or iPad remotely. The thinking behind Canary is hardly new, but the amount of sensors and the use options it includes make it a very interesting proposition. If nothing else, it will shake up the security industry.