When we mention sleep in peace, we think cosy bed or some aromatherapy thingy, but the LifeDoor isn’t those things. There’s no way to say what it is by a name; it needs to be described to say what it really is. So what is LifeDoor? It is an emergency door closer of sort that automatically closes the door at the sound of a smoke detector. This is really a very clever contraption. It attaches to the hinge of a, say, bedroom door and in the event of a fire where smoke is detected, LifeDoor will shut the door automatically to slow down the spread of deadly fire and toxic fumes.
In addition, it will illuminate with built-in bright LEDs and at the same time, the device itself will set off a secondary audible alarm to alert the occupant(s). The idea of LifeDoor was pitched by a group of firefighters with aim to create a safer home environment. For those aren’t aware, by closing doors, it actually deprives the fire of access to oxygen in the room and therefore, slow down the rate of the fire spreading. Of course, it would help if the doors are fire rated.
Hidden inside this rather unassuming device is an omnidirectional microphone that listens to your home UL listed smoke alarm to make a potential life-saving decision. The best part is, it can easily retrofit into existing door’s hinges and leverages on the smoke alarms you already installed in your home. Obviously, if you don’t have smoke detectors, you will need to get them installed for LifeDoor to work. Although, we or no one can help if you don’t even have doors.
It is not clear what actually goes inside this little life-saving fellow that would enable it to pull a door close right at the pivot point. If it is a motor (it should be right?), then that motor must packed one hell of a torque. LifeDoor has announced that it has now come out of concept stage and getting into production. If all goes as planned, it should be rolling into the market in March.
Furthermore more, the company has planned to launch a IoT version in Summer, working with Zigbee and Z-Wave. Have a look at LifeDoor in action the video below.
Images: LifeDoor.
