New home security system meets intruders with paintballs and tear gas

PaintCam, a Slovenian startup, claims to be the "first security system with integrated real-time face recognition" and can also fire paintballs and release tear gas.

“When wanting to ensure safety, being passive falls short,” the project founders believe. Eve, an AI-powered robotic security system, is designed to surveil users' property and, when detected, confront an intruder with paintball markers or tear gas so that they can later be taken care of by the authorities.

"Henry Ford wasn't the first person to invent the car, but he was the first to revolutionize transportation by implementing an efficient manufacturing process, making automobiles accessible to the masses," Srečko Dumanič, the company’s founder and CEO, said, adding that similarly, PaintCam seeks to democratize security, “making proactive protection accessible to all.”

The specifications of the system include:

• Automatic target marking: once an intruder is detected, they're deterred with paintballs or tear gas.
• AI-based decision-making: the camera detects and tracks objects in real-time, in different conditions. It can recognize people, animals, and various objects, separating unwelcome intruders from family members, friends, or acquaintances. In cases when an unknown face is detected next to a recognizable one, the system will not take further action.
• Remote access: users can monitor their space in real-time from anywhere. In cases when internet connection is lost, PaintCam works autonomously.
• Personalized area selection: users can select which areas of their home they'd like to check, whether it might be a backyard or a front door.

The project, which launched on Kickstarter, revealed that different specifications would be available through three categories of Eve: Standard, Advanced, and Elite, with only the latter having an integrated face recognition feature.

While the new system is focused on helping to secure one's home, it also raises questions about the safety of others and how legal it is to use paintballs or tear gas. Especially if the system is used in different parts of the world with different takes on such preventative measures.

“Tear gas is an optional add-on for users, not mandatory. Our main goal is to mark intruders for easier apprehension by police. The system is designed for use in fenced environments or even indoors, and its activation is similar to traditional alarm systems for user familiarity,” shared the PaintCam representative.

Revealing the reasoning behind choosing such measures for home security, the company said it wants to empower the user to take active steps to stop intruders. “The feeling of watching an intruder violate your property and being powerless to stop them is a nightmare,” it concluded.