Panasonic Launches Home Monitoring Floor Lamp Via Indiegogo Campaign

Panasonic turned to Indiegogo to launch a $279 home monitoring system that doubles as a floor lamp. The crowd-funding campaign, which began Jan. 22, was introduced in a Tuesday news release. With 18 days to go, seven HomeHawk Floor units out of 25 had been claimed at the early bird $185, and nine units overall brought it to 9 percent of goal, said the webpage. Estimated delivery is May. Panasonic is pitching the system, with an eye-level camera built into the top section, as an alternative to security cameras that are “a pain to mount.” Among features are voice assistant control; full HD recording; two-second “pre-recording” before the motion sensor is activated; a 140-degree camera angle; adjustable height, built-in speaker and mic; geofencing that turns off the camera when the owner leaves; and color night vision.