A Bugging Problem With Home Security Cameras

Avoiding false alarms

When asked about this problem, most home security companies would advise turning down the sensitivity level of the camera. However, this defeats the whole purpose of the device! Luckily for you, we have some better tips to improve the situation. If you haven’t yet purchased anything then make sure to look for cameras with a built-in PIR sensor. It’s short for Passive Infrared and it’s meant to measure infrared light radiating from an object’s field of view. This is a feature that nowadays commonly comes as standard with motion detectors, granting them the ability to distinguish larger objects (a bear or a human) from smaller pets and insects.

The other trick requires some tech-savviness. If you have a high-end security camera with motion detection, then you’ll probably have a feature called line detection. Basically you draw a virtual line in the camera’s field of view, and the system is only triggered when something crosses the line from a particular angle. This is perfect for motion detection cameras located in the hallway or a living room.

Turning insects into loyal spymasters

Obviously we don’t mean that real-life mosquitos can be trained to keep an eye on your neighbors and buzz other people’s secrets to you ear. Instead we’re talking about the development of drones, where the robots are so small that they resemble tiny bugs with cameras instead of eyes. The U.S. military is said to have already designed such tiny little drones as a means to fight terrorism. And, like most military inventions, the bug cameras will eventually be transplanted into civil use.

But can we really trust a security mosquito that flies around the house taking snapshots of anyone who sets foot on the lot? Deploying bite-sized drones would eventually lead to the violation of privacy, because people would use it to spy on each other and gather dirt on their neighbors. You’d never know who controls the tiny metallic fly that sits innocently on your wall, pretending to be a real insect. Instead, wait for the adoption of quadcopter security drones; not only are they a better criminal deterrent, but in the future we might be able to equip flamethrowers on them.