Ljubljana - Bird Buddy, a smart bird feeder project created by a team of mostly Slovenian entrepreneurs, has raised EUR 700,000 in funds on Kickstarter, the global crowdfunding platform in a matter of days.

Launching the campaign on Wednesday, the team set out to collect EUR 50,000. "We met the basic goal within 20 minutes, going to raise more than half a million in just over 24 hours," one of the founders, Žiga Vrtačič, has told the STA.

"We expected a successful launch, but the volume of interest has come as a surprise," said Vrtačič after more than 5,000 backers supported the project.

He co-funded the project with Slovenian developer Franci Zidar and US industrial designer Kyle Buzzard, who has established himself internationally with his involvement in Google Chromecast.

The crowdfunding campaign is planning to wrap up on 14 January 2021, according to information on the project's website on Kickstarter, available at sta.si/qbyt58.

The basic Bird Buddy kit features a modern design bird feeder with a feed container and a detachable module that includes a small video camera with a microphone and a movement sensor.

Detecting the arrival of a bird, the sensor notifies the user by means of a wireless connection and a mobile app. The app also allows the user to take a photo of the bird.

Equipped with artificial intelligence, the app recognizes over 1,000 bird species. It can also recognise the bird when it hears it sing.

The app also makes it possible to organise and share bird photographs and offers advice on what feed is suitable for which species of birds.

Production of Bird Buddies is planned to start in mid-2021 and they are to be started to be supplied to the backers in September 2021.

If the project can collect more than EUR 750,000, the users will be offered the option of a sensor to notify them when the feed container is empty, and at EUR 950,000 a solar cell to charge the camera module battery will be added.

Vrtačič says that most of the backers so far come from the United States, United Kingdom, with many from Canada, Australia, Sweden, Germany and Slovenia.