This security camera with year-long battery just smashed its Kickstarter goal

Eufy EverCam

In one of the least surprising Kickstarter success stories of recent years smart home manufacturer Eufy has absolutely demolished its funding goal with the EverCam security camera.

Eufy talks a big game, with a promise of a year’s battery life on a single charge, and on-board memory that also lasts a year. 

Because of these unique selling points (as well as early-backer discounts) Eufy comfortably surpassed its goal of about £35,000 ($50,000, AU$65,000) with about of £590,000 pledged and 58 days of the campaign left to go at time of writing. 

AI keeps the motor running

The reason the camera can claim such a staggeringly long battery life is because it has a three factor authentication process before it starts filming: first it uses infrared to detect motion and heat, then it uses AI to detect that the object is a human, and finally it uses a further AI to recognize the person’s face.

Only if the camera gets to this final stage and cannot recognize the subject will it start filming and notify you. Eufy claims that this process will also reduce false alarms by 95%, although what it's measuring this against is unclear. 

The camera has a 140-degree viewing angle, and – like its main competitor the Arlo Pro 2 – is magnetically mounted. A nice feature is that EverCam has an alarm so that if someone tries to pry your camera from its magnetic mount they’ll be treated to a loud siren.

The EverCam is waterproof to IP66

The EverCam is waterproof to IP66

Those same speakers can be used for two-way audio, and Eufy has passed its ‘stretch goal’, which means it will be investing in making the EverCam compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and IFTTT. 

This will enable you to watch live feed on smart displays like the Echo Show, as you can with the Nest Cam IQ.

The camera will sell for $499 (about £350, AU$650), but there's a range of early-bird discounts still available on the Kickstarter page. It’s worth noting that these are limited by country, so may not be available in your area. Eufy is planning to start shipping September 2018.

Via The Ambient

Andrew London

Andrew London is a writer at Velocity Partners. Prior to Velocity Partners, he was a staff writer at Future plc.