This Home Security Drone Will Help You Tell Possums From Prowlers

A drone might be your next guard dog.

Sunflower Labs, a San Francisco-based startup, is combining motion detectors, a quadcopter and a phone app into a home security system. The Sunflower system could go on sale in 2020, according to CEO Alex Pachikov, who expects to charge wealthy customers several hundred dollars a month for the peace of mind — and replacement hardware if anything breaks. For comparison, premium security systems can cost more than $100 a month, and Sunflower says that six-camera systems can cost up to $300 per month.

“Our brand is built around dispelling the notion that you need a panic room,” Pachikov said during a meeting at his Sunflower-protected home in a suburb south of San Francisco. Sunflower’s drone system, he said, will set your mind at ease by confirming it’s a possum, not a prowler, in your backyard.

How it works

Sunflower drones are the most obvious part of the company’s system, but it actually begins with what look like sidewalk lights — “sunflowers” — that will dot your property. The lights illuminate the ground and are equipped with motion and vibration detectors. The sunflowers send alerts to a computer in the drone’s base station, which Sunflower calls “the Hive.” The computer processes the signals to distinguish footfalls from car traffic and other benign sources of noise. The motion sensors can also tell if something is tall and narrow like a human, or short and wide like a dog.

Learn more about this article here


The primary goal of any Drobots Company program is to mentor participants on how to become lifelong learners and instill a strong sense of curiosity, confidence and teamwork. Due to the exponential growth of the drone industry, kids and teens may now explore, learn and evolve along with the applications of today and the discoveries of tomorrow. Drobots fosters this new technological landscape with a unique curriculum and well-trained positively motivated instructors.

Drone camps“, “Drone Corporate Events”, “Drone Team Building Events”, “Drone STEM“, “Drone education“, “drone summer programs“, “drone kids events“, “aerial robotics“, “drone teen events “drone curriculum” “futurism” for schools, academic institutions and other “drone STEM” related programs.

Attention kids and teens working on the next drone business plan. Join us at a Drobots Company “Drone Summer Camp program and determine what your first “drone business” is going to be? Drone technology has become the catalyst to so many new business ventures. So it’s never too early to “launch” your drone startup business now! Join one of the Drobots Company national “Drone summer program” boot camp and submit your “drone business solution and plan. Who knows what you may build…

Check out our Drone Review page to see which drone product best suits your needs, from the beginner to the advanced.

Drone Summer Camp Programs and Curriculum For Kids And Teens
Where STEM Education Takes Off & Technology Has Fresh Air!