The Halo Smart Smoke Alarm you see here is, as its product name suggests, an intelligent smoke detector that is also preset, out-of-the-box, to receive tornado warnings and push them to your mobile so you and your family can be better prepared for any imminent threats. It is hard to imagine smoke alarm has come this far and is able to do more than just sniffing out smoke and crying them out loud in 85dB chirps. Halo does what many smoke alarms do, namely detecting smoke which could mean potential fire, but thanks to the industry-first combination of sensors, including photoelectric, ionization, carbon monoxide, heat and humidity, it can learn from its environment which will help reduce false alarms while confirming actual dangerous concerns. For example, it will learn that burnt toasts are not a cause for alarm and smoldering fire is.
The incorporation of both type of smoke detecting sensors ensure that it will not fail to detect different types of fire. Built-in WiFi connectivity enables Halo to connect to your home wireless network, while Zigbee protocol allows it to be assimilated into your home automation systems, should you have one in place. As mentioned earlier, it comes preset to receive tornado warnings, but you can also choose to add additional weather alerts (known as “imminent danger”), such as high wind, tsunami, flooding, blizzard – just to name a few, that are applicable to your locality. In this way, you will never missed out on critical alerts just because you don’t have a radio.
Another interesting feature is, Halo does away with annoying shrill beeping sound for warnings, instead, it uses verbal and visual warning. Verbal as in spoken words like “Elevated smoke in the kitchen” and visual is by the way of pulsating light. Aesthetically, we wouldn’t say Halo is revolutionary, cos’ it is after all, a smoke alarm, but it looks a whole lot handsomer than the usual battery-operated, packed in blister-pack, variety that you find in the bargain bins of Walmart.
Speaking of battery-operated, the Halo Smart Smoke Alarm is offered as “hard wired” version, which is powered by your home’s electrical wiring, and a “battery-only” model that runs off four AA batteries. The hard wired model comes outfitted with a lithium-ion rechargeable battery as a backup and the battery-powered model will notify you of low battery status with words as oppose to the irksome beeps. It can, of course, push this low-batt status to your cell phone, so you will know to pick up fresh batteries on your way home.
Want one? Well, then you can hit up Halo’s Indiegogo campaign page to pre-order one for $60 or more, depending on how soon you place the order.
submitted via TIP US page.
