Launch HN: Piccolo (YC W18) – Camera for controlling your home with gestures

I wonder if this could be an iPhone app, so we can just use an old iPhone. Do we need a special camera at all?

It’s funny because, ycombinator loudly boasts that, ideally, it seeks to fund billion dollar ideas, and yet I so very much do not want a thing like this.

Computer vision is this incredible thing, until you realize it means you’ll be in front of a camera you cannot control, and that camera will require broadband internet, if not for a one-time activation, then perhaps continuously and indefinitely.

I’ve never seen a high-end electronic device produced after 2010 restrict itself from the internet. No company seems have the self control necessary to consider even the idea. No internet? Impossible!

What kind of echo chamber would shout down such an idea? Do people understand why I might worry about a camera with unrestricted internet access? Why must I trust anything so deeply?

I don’t want to hear about how I should just give up this fight, because I’ve already lost anyway. I don’t care about what other devices already do. I don’t care about how different this time is.

This looks interesting... No pricing listed, but I'm guessing it will be between $200 to $400. My main issue with "smart" devices is the price vs the longevity.

(Cameras + bulbs + switches + doors + sensors) * how many rooms you have = this automated home thing get's expensive really fast.

And then you end up with a not so smart home. Not to mention the struggle that's to figure out what devices talks to what system and the many apps... everyone want's to make their own app, and then you need a middleman app to talk to other apps. All of this work, and in 5 years you will probably need to replace everything. Just thinking about it, a smart home today will probably devalue the price of your home in 10 years.

You could but the downsides are: 1/ It doesn't have the ideal sensors (stereo cameras, or other depth sensor), so you'd have limited functionality 2/ Most people wouldn't want to run their iPhone consistently day after day.