Homeboy: Accessible home security system

https://www.homeboy.com/

by natch • 12 years ago

14 13 12 years ago

natch6• 12 years ago

Received the camera today. Designed in Australia, shipped from California. Very well done packaging/unboxing.

More important is the software and the accessibility. It starts talking to you as soon as you plug it in! Although I have to say we got off to a bad start when it said "put your network in WPS mode" and I didn't know what that was.

The app gives control over the device and lets you monitor and clear alerts, and share with others.

Very impressed with how well they've made it work end to end. There are a few rough edges but anyone working on Internet of Things products that have a human in the loop should take a look at this, because there are some really good ideas here.

moonka• 12 years ago

Can you see the video from your phone, or check in live? Can you elaborate on the rough edges?

a13xb3• 12 years ago

Disclaimer first: I'm one of the developers.

Yes, you can see the video from your phone. We don't do continuous live streaming due to long-life battery-centric design. You can, however, capture on-demand videos up to 30s. Main use case is the alarm system (videos + alerts triggered by motion).

natch6• 12 years ago

You don't see a live picture but you can "check in" as you put it by tapping on "record video now" in the app and it will immediately record 5 seconds of video and show it to you AFTER it is done recording. Or you can ask for longer videos (up to 30 seconds). If you think this sounds like a bad limitation, keep in mind a main design goal they had is battery life, which buys you as a user the ability to put this thing anywhere without worrying about running power to it.

Rough edges:

- The WPS mode tech jargon was one thing. Although many users will be, like me, tenacious enough to Google, read the support docs, and figure it out, it might freeze some in their tracks.

- Physically the hardware does NOT have rough edges literally or figuratively. The thing is very nicely made, has a very high quality feel. Nice piece of kit. The design of camera, motion sensor, built in lighting, magnetic base, magnet-friendly metal housing, and optional (removable) physical cover are all really well designed and manufactured. So no rough edges there.

- Onboarding process is smooth and this thing seems highly interested in getting itself connected and working. It's like it's taking the initiative and pulling you through the process. This is a huge problem for this kind of product and they have done an amazing job. (edit: so not really any rough edges there either).

- Weird rough edge (maybe) that it seems to want to redo the setup when you press the one physical button. Which is the right thing to do the first time, but once you've got the thing set up, and then you are adventurous and press the same button again, it's a surprise to hear it say that it is beginning setup again. Fortunately it doesn't reset your existing settings, so the initial alarm you might feel at this moment is not justified. It cancels (exits setup mode) when you press the button again. Or exits by itself if left alone. And either way, it speaks and tells you it is exiting setup. This rough edge could probably be solved with a wording change: have it say "entering settings mode" which doesn't make it sound like it's done a full reset. Another solution would be to simply label the button "Settings" or "Setup" but if the latter is chosen there's still a user timidity issue as people might be afraid to re-enter Setup wondering if their old settings will be lost. Anyway, all that being said, the actual behavior (apart from my perception as a user of being scared in the moment) is correct... settings are preserved. Whew that was long winded.

- iPhone software is generally excellent but a couple things are missing: I don't see how to save or delete videos. I can imagine wanting to email a video, say for a police report. Or delete old ones if they pile up.

- When I invited someone to my Posse, we weren't sure if they should create an account first, or accept the invitation first. I forget the sequence we did but the app got in a weird state where it was showing the invite superimposed over the create account button both on the same screen, both showing through each other, and the accept invite button was not accepting taps. Not a big deal, just your standard edge case type of bug that happens in version 1.0 software. We got past the problem by hard quitting the app and restarting it from the invite link, and then it was fine. Adding the deputy went smooth after that and we left the location and both saw the camera auto-arm (this thing arms itself when your phone leaves the location... the app does not have to be running).

In sum the rough edges are nothing that affects the functionality at all. This camera is working great. I'm really impressed given the complexity of everything they've done.

a13xb3• 12 years ago

Developer here.

We are glad you like it. We'd also like to hear about rough edges, if possible.

natch6• 12 years ago

See answer to moonka.

bhhaskin• 12 years ago

This looks great! I have always like the idea of dropcam, but don't like the idea of having to run cables everywhere.

daok• 12 years ago

It is not clear for me if I can visualize from my phone what the camera is visualizing or just see a notification.

natch6• 12 years ago

You can see from the phone after the video is finished recording. It's not a live feed but if it's say a 5-second recording, you can start watching it within around 1-2 seconds from the time the recording ends.

natch6• 12 years ago

Can no longer edit my own comment but just a correction: you can actually start watching it just a few seconds after it starts recording.

brandon272• 12 years ago

Tried to order a unit - they won't ship to Canada. Frustrating.

Homeboy: Accessible home security system

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