Smart & Wired: Safe At Home
March 1, 2004
The house is
capable of keeping tabs on its residents as well as on the home itself. It can
sense a water leak and alert the homeowner by cell phone. It can also obey voice
commands to control the lights, stereo, television and drapes. As a resident
moves from room to room, the house senses the movement, turning on the
television and tuning it to the proper station as the resident enters the room.
The homeowner can even unlock the front door electronically, by phone.
Helal plans to test the technology more fully in a 2,500-square-foot home now under construction near the university in Gainesville, Fla. Helal is also working with the construction industry to try to encourage builders to incorporate his technology into new homes being built around the country.
Although Helal’s technology will not be available commercially for a few years, other products intended to make homeowners more secure are on the market now.
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SonarGuard’s pool system creates an invisible sonar “net” that sounds an alarm
if a child falls in. (Click image to enlarge)To protect his three young children, John Sattler recently
installed a SonarGuard system on the 40-foot pool at his suburban Dallas home.
The system uses sonar technology to create an underwater “safety net” in a pool
and sounds an alarm if a child enters the pool. The system can differentiate
between the wave pattern created by a ball or pool toy falling into the water
and that of a small child. SonarGuard, developed by RJE Technologies Inc., sells
for between $5,000 and $20,000, with most installations in the $5,000 to $6,500
range, according to Robert Jechart, the company’s president.
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Napco’s IQ sensor. (Click image to enlarge)Home security
systems can now keep track of residents’ whereabouts or notify homeowners of
water leaks or extreme temperature situations. Napco Security Group manufactures
a Smart Home System that helps parents keep track of their kids while they are
at work. When a child comes home, he enters a personal code; the system then
notifies parents by e-mail, pager or cell phone that the child has arrived
safely. The electronic latchkey is relatively inexpensive and is widely
available through alarm companies.
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