The biggest problem with all of the new smart home technology coming these days is the messy installation process. You're usually having to rip out old systems to put in whatever new smart thermostat, light or lock you've bought. And then you've got to figure out how to sync it up wirelessly. This alienates large swaths of potential customers from outside the cloistered world of Silicon Valley.
That issue is supposedly the angle new smart home startup Leeo is looking to solve. The secretive Palo Alto-based startup emerged from stealth last month to announce the $37 million it's raised as well as having a team of people behind products like Beats headphones and Guitar Hero and companies like CIA-backed big data company Palantir and robotics company RoboteX. Now the company is ready to actually start talking about a product.
Its first product will be a nightlight designed by Beats headphones creator Robert Brunner that constantly listens for smoke and CO alarms. It works by filtering out all the noises in your home and listening for the exact frequency these kinds of alarms make. If an alarm is picked up, an alert is sent to a list of emergency contacts to let them know an alarm is going off.
Setting up the device is relatively simple compared to other smart home devices. You plug it into the wall, download the app and connect it to Wifi. The device also has humidity and temperature sensors. At $99 per device, it's meant to be able to cover a single floor per device. Leeo's smart alert will be available on the company's website and Amazon, but not in brick and mortar retail until 2015.
Leeo is thinking about adding additional features through future software updates. For example, the device could be updated to detect the sound of breaking glass if someone might be trying to break in. But for now, the company is focused on the smoke and CO alarm detection.
This of course isn't the only way to connect your smoke and CO alarm system to the internet. Last year, Google-owned Nest came out with an entire smoke and CO alarm, the Nest Protect, also at $99. The Nest Protect is able to add a whole lot more intelligence to a smoke and CO alarm system, but you'll likely have to buy a few of these alarms and go through the process of installing them.
"People aren't comfortably replacing their smoke alarms," said Charles Huang, COO of Leeo. "Part of our design philosophy is creating smart home products that are easy for anyone to use."
Leeo is planning this product to be the first in a long line of smart home products it'll be unveiling. The products will be tailored to specific countries and regions. For example, this first product is for monitoring smoke and CO alarms, but it's also a nightlight and nightlights are very specific to North America and probably won't make sense for consumers anywhere else.
“We're developing different products for different parts of the world,” said Leeo co-founder and CEO Adam Gettings. “In China, they're worried about pollution. In Japan, there's an interest in energy with the unwinding of nuclear power. Likewise in Europe, the North Sea oil is running out. There are different themes and cultures. Our job is to make relevant products for those themes. We have to have an intimate relationship with these markets.”
