Scores of recent devices are launched yearly on the Shopper Electronics Present (CES), the tech world’s greatest showcase. But many of those merchandise by no means make it to market. They’re solely proofs of idea or prototypes of gadgets that might perhaps at some point doubtlessly hit the market.
That makes Hen Buddy’s new $129 Petal good nature digital camera considerably of a phenom. After debuting at CES 2025 in January, the Petal and its modular Marvel Blocks system lastly went up for preorder on Kickstarter on April 29, turning into an immediate smash. An organization consultant mentioned the marketing campaign raised $1.5 million from greater than 5,000 backers in 24 hours, crushing its $100,000 fundraising aim by 1,400 %. (On the time of writing, it had drummed up over $1.8 million from 6,300 backers.)
Why all of the hype? I wished to share my take as somebody who received to take a look at the Petal and Marvel Blocks on the CES showroom ground this previous winter.
Credit score: Haley Henschel / Mashable
Hen Buddy to bee buddy
The Hen Buddy identify alone has a giant sway. The corporate’s eponymous good fowl feeder, which has a built-in digital camera that may establish totally different avian species, has turn into vastly well-liked because it first launched in late 2020.
Hen Buddy co-founder and CEO Franci Zidar advised me at CES that the corporate has cultivated an enthusiastic consumer base that is keen about connecting with nature. Zidar mentioned the Petal was an apparent subsequent step to assist folks higher perceive their native ecosystems, going past simply birds to seize yard crops, bugs, and pollinators, too.
Credit score: Hen Buddy
Design-wise, the Petal is a 12MP digital camera in a cup-shaped case that is available in a number of colours. You’ll be able to set up the Petal by clipping it to the aspect of a pole or planter, or just by wrapping its squiggly, bendable stem mount round a department or gate. It is lots friendlier-looking and fewer austere than your normal safety digital camera. (To cite my CES writeup, the bottom and stem combo makes it look type of “like a minimalist, bionic flower.”)
Mashable Gentle Velocity
The Petal ships with a swappable macro lens for detailed close-ups and an ovular photo voltaic panel that’ll hold it operating “indefinitely in most environments,” in response to its press supplies. With out the panel, the gadget’s “low-powered architecture” lets it run for over a month between prices.
The Petal is not meant to be a cutesy yard CCTV system: Its function is to get you on a “first-name basis” along with your native wildlife, Zidar mentioned in January. Its digital camera can establish greater than 2,000 species utilizing visible and audio cues. It may well additionally detect shifts in its environment utilizing an “advanced AI layer” referred to as Nature Intelligence, which alerts customers to those adjustments. For instance, if a songbird begins constructing a nest in a close-by tree, you may get a ping.
Credit score: Haley Henschel / Mashable
Per the press launch, Petal’s companion app has a “built-in storytelling engine” referred to as Nature’s Voice that may create “BBC Earth–style mini documentaries” utilizing highlights from its 4K video footage. Its narrator does a fairly good Attenborough impression.
A function referred to as Influence Rating offers the consumer insights into their yard’s biodiversity and the frequency of pollinator visits. Customers hoping to up that frequency can look into Marvel Blocks, a modular habitat system for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds that launched alongside the Petal. Collectively, they kind what Hen Buddy calls a “Smart Nature Observatory.”
The core Marvel Block configuration features a Petal digital camera, an Statement Pole, and a self-watering planter base referred to as the Habitat. The latter comprises a built-in Bee Habitat, a Bee Observatory, and a “micro water feature” referred to as the Stream. It ships with a seed pod that’ll develop flowers native to your area. It’s also possible to add equipment like a butterfly shelter, hummingbird feeder, and a magnetic trellis.
Credit score: Haley Henschel / Mashable
Hen Buddy CEO Zidar initially advised me that the Petal would price lower than $100, however Hen Buddy has it priced at $129 on Kickstarter for early backers. (There’s additionally a Duo Bundle with two cameras and an Statement Pole for $249.) Marvel Blocks setups vary from $299 to $1,199. A singular Habitat planter sans Petal can be out there for $149.
For many who have been ready to attempt the Petal and Marvel Blocks since their CES look, keep affected person: They’re going to begin transport in mid-2026. I do know, I do know — that is a great distance off.
Within the meantime, the Hen Buddy good fowl feeder is obtainable at Amazon and Goal for $199.
Meet the Hen Buddy product line
