If you’re like most Americans, you probably have old cell phones, tablets and other devices around the house. Now a new startup is offering new tools to make your old equipment useful again.
The company, called Perch, was developed via a Samsung program intended to help incubate new startups, according to CNET. This week, the company released a beta version of its software that can turn old smartphones, tablets, web cams and other devices into cameras used for home monitoring.
Other companies have introduced similar tools for older equipment, but not with the features offered by Perch. For example, by tapping on a video image in their platform users could turn home lighting off or on. The Perch system also works like a video chat, giving it far less lag time than other video monitoring services. The company is also working on sensing technology so the system can detect the difference between an animal and a person, in order to minimize false alarms.
A premium service in the works would allow recording of the video monitoring, and the ability to program video recording settings.
The free beta is available at GetPerch.com. Users can view monitored video through mobile devices, but for now other functions require the use of Chrome browsers on a Mac or PC.