From http://blog.getperch.com/ : "Perch takes the devices you already own – laptops, tablets, cameras, even old phones – and turns them into a simple home monitoring system. We’ve worked hard to make Perch the easiest way to get started in home monitoring. It’s free, for starters. And it’s open. We put the devices you already own to work, even if they’re all from different manufacturers. We want our service to be simple, open and convenient. Perch is free and accessible, but it uses some advanced technologies. Perch is fast. Unlike traditional video monitoring services that lag reality, often by five to ten seconds, Perch uses WebRTC and other new technologies to deliver a real-time experience, with sub-second latency and no buffering. That makes Perch uniquely actionable and interactive. Instead of a delayed, walkie-talkie style audio chat, Perch features embedded video messaging. Instead of a passive home monitoring experience, Perch lets you take action. You can use it with a home automation system such as SmartThings, for example, to turn on your lights in your home when you’re away, just by clicking on them in our video interface. Perch takes a new approach to the Internet of Things, using vision and motion algorithms instead of physical sensors. You can set up “zones” and alerts around your house. If your kids are goofing off in the TV room instead of doing their homework, you might see a notification, fire up a video chat, tell the kids to do their homework — and turn off the TV remotely. Our Android client are now in an open beta. If you don’t have an Android device, you can still use Perch with a laptop or with any standard USB webcam. Once you’ve got a camera up and running, you can come back to our website to see live video streams from your home, to review historical video, or to set up motion alerts."