Are Drones The New Security System?

If you have a home security system, keep your doors locked and your porch lights set to automatic, safety won’t be your only benefit, a homeowners insurance discount will be too. When you compare homeowners insurance quotes with CoverHound you’ll find competitive, affordable and discounted rates. Are there ways to get an even bigger discount? There are always ways to get more discounts, but a new one might be with accessorizing your home with a home security drone. Say hello to the future of home protection.

The Future in Home Protection

Sunflower Labs, a startup with offices in Silicon Valley and Zurich, Switzerland is making tech buzz with drone home security.

The startup wants homeowners to use drone technology to safeguard against intruders with video and app services that shows the homeowner what sort of questionable character is standing outside their home or trying to is trying to gain entry in real-time. Termed the Sunflower Home Awareness System, the drone security system uses in-ground smart lights that can detect sound, vibration and motion, according to CNN Tech. The system in turn analyzes the data it collects from the sounds, vibrations and motions it captures and is able to categorize it by vehicle, animal or human. Using artificial intelligence, the system is then able to determine if a disruption in the day-to-day activities of the home is unusual and possibly threatening.

If the sensors detect activity believed to be dangerous, you will be alerted through the system’s app. From there you will be asked if you would like the drone to inspect the area. If you say yes, the drone will activate and make an aerial sweep of the area, broadcasting the video to you. If you find that someone is trespassing on your property or is trying to break into your home, the app will connect you to law enforcement so that you can catch the perpetrator before they make off with your belongings. If you find that it’s only a neighbor watering your plants like you had asked them to do, you can direct the drone to go back to its nest, no harm done.

While this initially sounds like a great improvement in home security, it also raises ethical, privacy and safety concerns. Can the drone be used to spy on members of the household? What if an estranged spouse uses the system to spy on the goings on in the home? What happens if the drone malfunctions and falls on top of the mailman’s head? What are its cyber safety features? Can hackers get into the system and turn the drone against the owner?

Though still a work-in-progress, CEO Alex Pachikov promises that “[Sunflower Labs] want[s] to preserve [their] users privacy. [Sunflower Labs] [has] come up with a to do this without recording 24-7.” Despite assuring backers that this is the case, the company has not offered information as to how the system is prevented from this or protected from other vulnerabilities. With beta testing due to start mid-year, homeowners will just have to wait and see.

There are other ways to protect your home, a leading way being homeowners insurance. Find a policy with CoverHound that’ll protect you, your family and your home.