Empowering Homeowners with Accessible surveillance
According to FBI crime statistics, nearly 1.5 million U.S. homes are burglarized
every year. Victims lose an average of $1,700 in possessions and suffer lasting
emotional trauma. Imagine if those homeowners could be empowered with personalized
surveillance videos sent to their e-mail anytime, anywhere. Anyone approaching the
house would be clearly captured on video, and the owner could decide whether to
call the police, before a break-in even occurs. Thanks to the ingenuity
of engineers at WiLife, that vision—a sophisticated, affordable, motion-activated
video surveillance system—is now a reality.
WiLife’s groundbreaking camera system could quickly and easily change the
way homeowners think about surveillance. WiLife integrates Micron’s CMOS imaging
technology to make affordable home surveillance possible. But more interesting than
the technology advantages is the unique cooperation between the semiconductor giant
and the small startup innovator that made it all happen. It’s the kind of
story we like to tell, because it shows how Micron’s business strategy is
helping open new markets and create innovations that really do improve lives.
Plug-And-Play surveillance
The WiLife system provides three key advantages: it’s inexpensive, uncomplicated,
and configurable. A starter system sells for less than $300 and can be bought at
several major retailers. Because the camera uses home power lines to network themselves
to your PC (which also plugs into the power-line network via a USB adaptor), installation
is a do-it-yourself task that takes about 20 minutes. WiLife has essentially turned
the home surveillance system into a plug-and-play device. Simple configuration options
enable users to tweak motion-detection settings, recording times, alerts, and more.
The system’s quick setup is surpassed only by its response times. Eager to
test his own WiLife installation, a Micron marketing executive on a business trip
called home, asking his kids to jump up and down in front of the camera. He received
an e-mail with video from the system moments later—on his cell phone in Taipei.
A Market with Major Potential
The appeal of an affordable, self-managed, automated camera system is clear enough.
In many states, police departments have grown tired of expending resources on false
alarms, so they charge system owners as much as $1,200 for repeat bogus calls. Fear
of these fees causes many owners to simply disarm the system, leaving them with
a useless but expensive surveillance system and several months of contract commitment
left to pay. Those who can afford video systems often find that the images are inferior
and can’t hold up as evidence in a trial.
The founders of WiLife knew homeowners expected more and believed they could deliver
it by developing a low-cost, high-performance system that was easy to install. But
designing that system was another matter. Expensive CCD sensors put the price out
of reach, and their analog output limited features. WiLife found an ideal solution
in Micron's low-power, low-cost CMOS sensors, which provided outstanding quality
and even enabled some extra features. The camera’s development hinged on a
close working relationship with Micron's applications engineers, who provided support
tools and worked with WiLife to help overcome design obstacles.
That level of support sets Micron apart from our competitors. It’s a core
value that drives the way we do business and enables us to deliver the innovative
solutions that creative companies need to break into new markets and potentially
impact thousands of lives.
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