In exchange for helping us avoid a fiery death, we cut smoke detectors a lot of slack. We forgive their aggressively ugly looks, the ear piercing shrieks they emit in the presence of a burnt bagel, and endure the embarrassing dish towel dance we must perform to silence them in case of a false alarm.
But a startup called Birdi hopes to combine safety with style and has developed a smart new smoke alarm/carbon monoxide detector that defends against emergencies without intruding on our daily lives.The restrained plastic puck will sound the traditional alarm in case of fire, and a Wi-Fi connection allows it to simultaneously alert the fire department on the homeowner's behalf, or notify a landlord if one of their apartments is in flames.
The product was inspired by the grandmother of Birdi's CEO, Mark Belinsky. Her Brooklyn apartment was rocked by Hurricane Sandy, and when she was left without heat for weeks, her gas oven served as a ersatz space heater. Realizing that his grandmother was at risk for carbon monoxide poisoning, Belinsky got busy looking for an air quality sensor he could monitor remotely. After coming up empty, he started designing one of his own.
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In the process of studying the industry, Belinsky discovered that by using an array of lower cost sensors it would be possible to track other, less critical, measures of air quality in addition to the traditional hazards. As a result, Birdi measures the pollen count, can detect mold spores, and even measures humidity, transforming an emergency device into a real-time air quality monitor and an indispensable tool for asthmatics and other people suffering from respiratory illnesses. "We're taking it from a device that only works a tiny fraction of the time to something that's making your life healthier and safer 24/7," says Belinsky.
This new sensor also has the nice side effect of not being nuclear waste. After studying competitive products, Belinsky discovered smoke detectors containing ionization sensors actually contain a small amount of radioactive material. Not enough to give your family superpowers, but enough to require special disposal instructions.
Birdi brings new capabilities to the product category, but will fit onto existing mounts. The design is purposefully understated—it's a simple circle that will be available in a variety of colors, and it's most noticeable feature is the lack of a tacky grate. "There's no visual language for what the smart home should look like, as there is with kitchen devices or baby gear," says Belinsky "We're trying to create something that will work in a Modernist apartment living room and a Victorian bedroom, without detracting from the beauty of the environment."
While the hardware is meant to blend in, the user experience is immersive. The companion iPhone and Android apps gives users a quick, color-coded status report and sends push notifications to alert the user if dangerous gases have been detected.
>Neighbors can link their systems to alert one another in case of emergency.
When users are forced to interact with the device, Belinsky has tried to file off the rough edges. When testing that the device is functional, users hear birds chirping instead of the typically jarring buzz most alarms emit. "The reason that we chose the name Birdi is that people love birds more than they love technology and that will always be the case," says Belinsky. "We want to make our products as accessible as nature."
Many apps talk about having a community of users, but Birdi really hopes to embody this. Neighbors can link their systems to alert one another in case of emergency. Using geofencing features in iOS7, Birdi is able to sound an alarm if a tornado or other natural disaster is approaching your neighborhood.
Birdi is currently raising funds on Indiegogo and is working with PCH International, the contract manufacturing firm that supplies Apple and produces the Beats by Dre line, to prep a manufacturing line. While they're excited to ship the products, the team is more excited about making an invisible part of our environment quantifiable and actionable. "We imagine people buying their next home knowing not only the quality of their neighboring school district, but also the air quality," says Belinsky. "Air is the biggest quality of life indicator that we currently know almost nothing about."
