As part of the Wonder Blocks smart-garden system, Bird Buddy has developed a compact, AI-powered camera that detects the movement of flowers, birds, insects, and nature, and transforms its footage into a narrated mini documentary reminiscent of scenes of BBC Earth. Wonder Blocks, which is being developed by the Slovenian tech company Bird Buddy, aims to transform residential backyards into nature observatories that understand local flora and fauna better. Check out this marvel and what it'll do to help you film nature-filled days.
Petal Camera by Bird Buddy Will Allow You to Film Your Favorite Nature-Filled Moments
One essential element of this innovative project is the Petal camera, which can be purchased and utilized independently or linked to the broader network of habitats and shelters. Petal wakes up automatically when it senses movement or noise from bees, birds, and other creatures.
By employing AI for the curation of its recordings, it transforms them into what Bird Buddy refers to as Earth-style mini documentaries. It employs a built-in storytelling engine, which is a framework for creating stories based on a repeatable narrative structure, along with AI vision capable of identifying more than 2,000 species of plants and creatures.
More About Petal's Shape and Characteristics
The camera, with its domed lampshade-like head and flexible grip that wraps around trellises or plant stems, resembles a flower, possessing the bright and cartoonish character of a children's toy. According to Julianna Probst, the lead industrial designer at Bird Buddy, this aligns with other products in the Wonder Blocks ecosystem that were designed around a visual language of playfulness and precision.
The company collaborated with field experts to ensure that its products would catch the attention of bees and other insects, as well as humans. It was a natural step to incorporate bright colors, which attract pollinators. The forms are also friendly in appearance and, when suitable, biomimetic, branching out from a core language of softened geometry.
The Wonder Blocks system revolves around a base featuring a magnetic trellis—referred to by Bird Buddy as the Frame—that anchors modules. The modules include various kinds of habitats, a water element known as the Stream, and a sealed 'bee observatory'. The Petal camera can be positioned inside this observatory to capture the bees' concealed behaviors without disrupting their normal activities.
Wonder Blocks - Understanding Nature
Wonder Blocks, besides being a way of observing nature, are also about comprehending it. It supports the pollinators that are crucial to our ecosystems, and Petal allows you to see and hear their stories develop. This is conservation that is accessible, emotional, and intelligent.
With the help of AI, the camera will provide alerts based on identified patterns or shifts in the environment, like nesting or plant stress, and will assign users an Impact Score to aid them in understanding their contribution to the local ecosystem.
Bird Buddy estimates that the compact camera, which operates on a combination of charging and solar power, will be able to run for at least a month on a single charge due to the boost from the photovoltaic panel.
When it came to materials, the company chose to work with a combination of natural materials and a recycled biocomposite plastic, which means that part of the usual petroleum-based feedstock for the plastic is replaced with an organic material like starch or flax. The pollinator habitats are made from FSC-certified wood to maintain the porosity needed to prevent mould and mildew.
Bird Buddy says it is still in the development stage with Wonder Blocks and Petal and will next test the design in the field before further refining it in the autumn. It plans to begin shipping the product in mid-2026 and will initially launch in the US, Canada, UK, EU, Norway, and Switzerland.
Photos by @my.bird.buddy.
