As far as hardware startups go, few are as entertaining as Bird Buddy. Its simple innovation — attaching an internet-connected camera to a bird feeder — has spawned a strong customer base and a slew of copycats, with our own Sarah Perez being a well-known fan of the gadget.
The Michigan-based company today announced “Name That Bird,” a new AI-powered feature that lets users name and track individual birds. While we can't speak to the effectiveness of the feature just yet, we can easily imagine it being one of the most requested features among users, one that strengthens the emotional connection with the odd little backyard visitor you're feeding on camera.
“Name That Bird” determines individual members of a species by identifying characteristics that are difficult for most humans to spot.
“The detail provided by the 5MP high-resolution Bird Buddy sensor in all our feeders and its close-up format is designed to bring out the perfect characteristics of visiting birds,” CEO Franci Zidar said in the release. “This enables Bird Buddy to uniquely capture the characteristics needed for this task. The potential is great, and we couldn't be more excited about what this will unlock.”
“Name That Bird” comes as part of a larger set of AI-powered features for Bird Buddy called “Natural Intelligence.” Among other things, the feature can also determine if a bird is injured or sick, “information bird lovers want to know to help prevent the spread of disease,” the company wrote.
It also notifies you of animals other than birds. It detects bees, butterflies, lizards, raccoons and cats. Although it cannot identify individual animals, pet owners may want to know if their cat is prowling around the bird feeder looking for food.
The new features don't come free, though: Smart bird feeders are also getting into the subscription business: Natural Intelligence is available as part of a $6-per-month Bird Buddy Pro subscription.