For Airbnb hosts who want to keep tabs on their homes, a full home security system might be overkill. They're expensive, and live cameras and motion detectors invade guests' privacy. So how do they make sure guests keep the volume down, aren't smoking inside and don't ransack their home?
A new device called Point
combines microphones with environmental sensors to detect anything out
of the ordinary in your home while you are away. A broken window while
you're at work, the sound of your teenagers throwing a raging party,
Grandad sneaking an unauthorized after-dinner cigar.
"They want to have peace
of mind and know that everything is fine, but they don't want or need
full security systems," said Nils Mattisson, co-founder of Form Devices, the start-up that makes Point.
Small, round and plastic,
Point looks like a traditional smoke alarm crossed with a speaker.
Sounds are matched with data from the other sensors to figure out what
might have happened -- a loud crash followed by a drop in temperature
might mean a window was broken. It hears when an existing smoke detector
goes off and sends an alert, though it's not certified as an official
smoke detector on its own.
It has a microphone that
can detect sounds outside that the human ear could pick up.
Environmental sensors pick up temperature; the particle sensor can tell
what's in the air.
When Point detects any
notable changes, it sends an alert to the owner's smartphone. The mobile
app also shows a timeline of all events, so someone can quickly scroll
through the day to see when people were in the home. All the computation
takes place on the device; there is no live-streaming audio, no way to
eavesdrop on your home and no overwhelming amount of data to sort
through.
Mattisson worked in the
Exploratory Design Group at Apple for seven years, where he helped build
prototypes for early, experimental product ideas. He left the company
last year to start Form with co-founders Marcus Ljungblad, Fredrik
Ahlberg and Martin Lööf.
Together, they wanted to
create a new genre of smart-home device. The original idea started with
Airbnb hosts, but it's for anyone who wants a lightweight security
option for their home or office. It's meant for anyone who doesn't need a
complex security system, or who isn't comfortable with images from
inside their home being stored on the cloud.
Internet-connected
cameras like Dropbox are a popular alternative to full security systems,
but images and videos stored in the cloud can be vulnerable to hackers.
For example, a Russian website
is hosting hacked streams of strangers' video cameras. Point doesn't
store audio information, processing it all directly on the device.
Form has raised $150,000
on Kickstarter and is working with a manufacturer in China on the first
production run, though it has tested early prototype devices. Early
next year, the Finland-based company will ship the device to its first
pilot customer, a management company that rents offices for short
periods. Form hopes to test it with a hotel soon after that, and make it
available to consumers by next summer.
Tech companies including
Apple and Google, and traditional home stores like Lowe's and Home
Depot, are all pushing smart-home products as the next big thing.
Mattisson saw that big companies were taking existing products like
thermostats and refrigerators and adding Internet.
"We felt there was a
need for something that was simple," said Mattisson. "And we don't have
to make products that are in the same mold."
Source: CNN
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