Butterfleye is an American maker of

security alarm A security alarm is a system designed to detect intrusions, such as unauthorized entry, into a building or other areas, such as a home or school. Security alarms protect against burglary (theft) or property damage, as well as against intruders. ...

systems. The company is known for its wireless learning camera technology that prevents false alarms. Butterfleye was founded in 2013 by an engineer named Ben Nader, and is headquartered in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. On December 20, 2017, Butterfleye was acquired by Ooma. On September 22, 2021, Ooma sent the following message to Butterfleye users: "We're sorry to inform you that the operation, maintenance and support of Ooma Butterfleye and Smart Cam security cameras will be ending. As such, the last day of operation of your camera(s) will be October 22, 2021. After this day, your camera(s) will stop working and will no longer record videos. Any videos you currently access through the Smart Cam App will become unavailable."

History

After losing several bicycles in a series of break-ins at his apartment, Nader—then an engineer at

Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) is an American multinational semiconductor company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is one of the top 10 semiconductor companies worldwide based on sales volume. The company's focus is on developing analog ...

—tried to install his own security alarm system. Dissatisfied with existing products that took him three days to install, Nader set out to create an alternative. Nader was initially funded by

angel investing An angel investor (also known as a business angel, informal investor, angel funder, private investor, or seed investor) is an individual who provides capital to a business or businesses, including startups A startup or start-up is a company or p ...

, raising $1.6 million. In August 2015, he sought backing through the

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...

site

Indiegogo Indiegogo is an American crowdfunding website founded in 2008 by Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, and Eric Schell. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California. The site is one of the first sites to offer crowd funding. Indiegogo allows peo ...

, setting a goal of $100,000. When the campaign finished in October, the company had raised more than six times its initial goal.

Cameras

Nader described Butterfleye as "

Dropcam Dropcam, Inc. was an American technology company headquartered in San Francisco, California. The company is known for its Wi-Fi video streaming cameras, Dropcam and Dropcam Pro, that allow people to view live feeds through Dropcam's cloud-based s ...

meets

Nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...

," a combination of streaming cameras and home automation technology. Butterfleye's cameras are wireless with an estimated two-week battery life, allowing them to continue functioning in case of power interruptions. Butterfleye's cameras are distinguished by their facial recognition technology, which prevents false alarms, and their ability to learn what not to record (for example, footage of the home's residents themselves). The camera also includes iBeacon technology, allowing it recognize certain smartphones, also avoiding false alarms; a thermal imaging sensor; and audio recognition technology, through which the camera can learn to recognize sounds such as children crying or glass breaking. The system sorts and labels archived footage on the basis of these audio and visual cues. Each camera uploads using AES 128bit encryption, and has 12 hours of internal storage in the event of wireless network or Internet connection failure. Owners can watch the camera feed live or archived through an app on Android (in development) or

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

, and can be notified through the app when a person or pet is detected by a given camera. Owners can also activate a camera remotely, in which case a light on the camera signals to those nearby that it is recording. The cameras also feature two-way audio that allows the owner to speak through the camera to communicate with family members or pets.

References

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External links

Butterfleye WebpagePeople Protection Technology
Alarms Security companies of the United States