What could be better than complete panopticon-level surveillance over everything you own? Well, surveillance that only bothers you with issues you really want to know about, and which doesn’t send you an SMS every time the neighbour’s cat rubs itself against the garage door, of course!

The main difference with the Archerfish system is that alerts you by text or video footage only when certain “events” occur, which you define. Alerts can be sent to your cell or similar mobile device, as an email or to a customised web portal.

Unlike more conventional systems, you don’t need to monitor video around-the-clock or trawl through footage or rely on motion alarms.

Using a combination of video cameras, intelligent software (Smartbox) and a custom web portal (SmartPortal), Archerfish watches your premises for “events”. They can be defined as person, vehicle, intelligent object motion or external sensor trigger. This means the system can tell the difference between a human being and inanimate object like a car passing the camera.

At the same time, if the camera is triggered by human movement, you can check to see whether it’s a family member, an intruder or a delivery. You can also check live video through the SmartPortal, as long as you have access to a PC or web-enabled device.

Well, that’s a doozy… provided that you’re willing to trust the software not to goof. And that you’re willing to upgrade the software regularly. And that you’re willing to believe that no one will ever find a way to futz the cameras, or hack the backline hardware via that web portal… but other than that, complete peace of mind! Ain’t technology wonderful? [image by Cory Doctorow]