Introducing the ALLie Home, the 360-degree camera that never misses a thing

As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to grow, interconnectivity between devices and users flourishes more than it ever has before. Striving to contribute to the IoT virtual data exchange, the makers behind the ALLie Home camera, the cloud-based 360 degree home camera, are redefining virtual reality and data streaming by giving users a way to never miss a thing.  

Launched in April 2016, ALLie Home caters to a diverse market and is ready to capture anything from 24/7 home security footage to virtual birthday parties for distant relatives. With ALLIE, you can also live-stream concerts or record surgical procedures. Additionally, the camera can capture even those unexpected moments like your child’s first steps, simply because it is always on, always ready, and constantly feeding footage into the device’s proprietary cloud. 

Inside the aluminum case lie two 180-degree overlapping fisheye lenses that work to capture a fully spherical image at 20 frames per second. The camera uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800processor to efficiently live-stitch together the images it broadcasts to the user’s device. The ALLie app, compatible with any Wi-Fi enabled mobile device, allows for both real-time and recorded viewing, giving users the ability to easily pan around the room with a swipe of a finger. 

The technology behind 360-degree footage often poses a challenge for the consumer industry, in part, because, the components are priced at a point too high for the everyday user. 

“Most virtual reality cameras on the market are upwards of $1,700,” said ALLie Camera VP of marketing, Mark Sherengo, who has been working with 360-degree technology for the last few years and has 20 years of camera experience. “We are the cheapest 360 home camera under the $500 price point.” 

But despite the price, the engineers behind the ALLie cam have not skimped out on the innovative technology. 

The camera is designed to run during both daytime and nighttime, with a 24/7 power support via a standard wall outlet. An Infrared night vision mode automatically activates during low-light and nighttime settings to allow users to view up to 30 feet in complete darkness. 

The ALLie cam also has a two-way speaker that allows for a more inclusive virtual experience when multiple users are viewing the live stream on the app.

While the market for 360-degree cameras that live-stream content is growing, YouTube and other platforms are running into a complex issue: the video feeds aren’t broadcast quality. With dual 8-megapixel sensors that provide a 4096×2048 resolution, the makers of the ALLie camera have partnered with YouTube to run content of precise clarity in real-time. As a result, relatives from anywhere around the world can virtually attend family gatherings so long as they have Wi-Fi connectivity. 

“There was a tremendous change from analogue to digital, and from digital to the mobile industry. We believe 360 is the next revolution,.” Sherengo noted.

The company is working hard to be the leader in virtual reality imaging, striving for even higher resolution and is aiming to increase image frame capture to 30 frames per second to make videos even clearer.

Since it is always on, the device constantly updates the cloud with new content, where users can archive via YouTube or share on Facebook. Sherengo foresees other social media platforms partnering with ALLie for instant social sharing of 360 videos. 

“Where the people are is where we want to be,” he said.

As for the future, ALLie is positioned to work more with virtual reality, home IP capabilities, and security features in its next generation of the device, dubbed ALLie 1.5. Prior models of the ALLie camera will automatically update with the new software as it becomes available. 

Check out the video below of our visit with ALLie Home at New York’s CE Week in June 2016.