Home security cameras are a booming business, but it's far from a sure thing. Camera maker Lighthouse has just announced that it's shutting down, so any Lighthouse cameras you may have around the house will stop working in just a few weeks. Luckily, the company is offering refunds on the hardware.
Like most modern home security cameras, the Lighthouse camera relies entirelyon cloud storage. That at least made a little more sense in the case of Lighthouse, which used the camera's time-of-flight sensor (similar to Google Project Tango) to map the frame in 3D. With cloud processing, the camera could tell the difference between a person and the flat image of a person on a TV. However, the company was slow to add features to the app, and a paid service tier never materialized. We know Lighthouse was actively working on improving the device as recently as early December, so the shutdown seems to have caught everyone by surprise.
The cloud service will shut down on January 15th, rendering the cameras little more than paperweights. If you have footage you'd like to save, make sure you export it before then. The $300 indoor-only cameras were sold on the Lighthouse website, Amazon, and HSN. Lighthouse has instructions on how to get your refund, but you'll need to return the (soon to be useless) camera along with proof of purchase. The device is still available on Amazon, but I assume that will change soon.Sometimes a good idea isn't enough to keep the lights on, or in this case, the Lighthouse.
Source: Lighthouse