Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Sunflower Beehive system already shipping?
Yes, please contact our sales using the form above to place an order. We have been shipping systems since 2021.
Where is the Sunflower system currently supported?
We have already shipped systems to customers in the US, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Switzerland, Australia and Japan. We are evaluating the requirements for other countries, based on customer demand. If you are interested in having our system shipped to your country, please get in touch.
How much does it cost?
The total cost of the Sunflower system depends on many factors, such as size of the property, configuration and location. Please contact us to get an estimate.
How do you deal with current drone regulations?
We comply with all local, state, and federal regulations applicable to the operation of the Sunflower system in that region or country.
We’ll work with you to understand how these regulations might affect your requirements and assist you in applying for the necessary licenses and waivers.
How long does the Bee fly?
The total flight time is around 20 minutes, depending on temperature and weather conditions. The Bee is operational for around 15 minutes when fully charged. We reserve around 5 minutes of additional flight time to safely return and land in the Hive. Our typical deployments last just a few minutes, and the recharge rate is very fast — so the Bee is effectively ready to go at a moment's notice.
How large an area can a Bee cover?
In optimal conditions, the Bee is capable of observing an event anywhere on a 4-acre property within 30 seconds.
The maximum flight distance of the default configuration is approximately 600 meters or 1,800 feet radius from the Hive.
Will I need to charge the Bee?
No, the Bee is self-charging. It lands precisely in its housing, the Hive, which charges the Bee while it is docked. Depending on how much battery is depleted, it can rapidly recharge and ready to fly again within minutes. Our unique charging system is capable of recharging a fully depleted battery in less than 25 minutes.
Where should I install the Hive?
The Hive must be placed out of the way of foot traffic and under an open sky, such as on a flat roof. It must have 6 feet or 2 meters of clearance around it.
In the future, we plan to provide additional installation options, like sloped roof mounts.
Do I need to pilot the Bee myself?
No. The Bee is fully autonomous. You will never need to manually fly or land the Bee yourself. However, if you would like to inspect a particular part of your site, you can use the Sunflower app to deploy the Bee to go and look at a specific spot, pan the camera, perform a security sweep, or any other missions that the system is configured for.
What do I do in case of a problem with the Bee?
The operator of the system always has the ability for emergency intervention. Emergency actions include requiring the Bee to return to the base station, landing the Bee immediately in place, and as a last resort, cutting off the power to the motors.
How does the system manage privacy?
At Sunflowers Labs, we fundamentally believe that the surveillance footage belongs to the customer. The customer is able to export and delete their data from our servers or have it automatically stored at a cloud service of their choosing.
The anonymized performance data and flight logs of the system will be used by Sunflower Labs for the purposes of assessing that the system is safe. This data is never shared with any third party and is only used for analysis of general performance or incidents. For more details, please refer to our Privacy Statement.
Where do you store the video collected by the Bee?
Currently, we use Google Cloud storage for our customers. However, the system is configurable so the customer can decide where they want the footage to be stored and how long it will be stored for.
Can the Bee recognize faces?
We do not provide the ability to recognize faces. We only detect whether there are people, animals or vehicles in either the video footage or snapshots from the Bee.
What happened to the Sunflower sensors?
The Sunflowers are our unique motion and vibration sensors that detect people, animals and vehicles built as a complement to our drone system. Due to customer demand for the drone system, we have decided to pause the work on the Sunflowers to focus on the base system and allow us to support a broader range of integrations with third party security camera and sensor networks.
If you’re interested in partnering with us on sensor integration, please get in touch using the form above.
Can I get a refund of my pre-order?
Yes. For refunds, contact Sunflower support with your order number: support@sunflower-labs.com.