When you leave home, who makes sure all of your newspapers, back issues of TV Guide, and take-out containers are safe? If all goes according to plan, the Point has got your back.
The point is essentially a simple sensor that listens for loud noises – glass breaking, doors opening – and senses motion. If anything happens you’ll receive a notification, allowing you to deploy security drones or alert the authorities.
Created by Nils Mattisson, Fredrik Ahlberg, Marcus Ljungblad and Martin Lööf, the company has its roots in Sweden but is now based in San Francisco. Mattisson worked at Apple’s Exploratory Design before quitting to build this device.
“We wanted something like this for ourselves—peace of mind to know that all is fine while away from home. Our only options were cameras and complex security systems and thought there had to be a better way,” said Mattisson.
The team notes that the device processes all sound right on the device, ensuring that no audio is uploaded to the cloud. Instead, the device simply listens for unusual things and sends out a notification, not the actual data.
It connects via WiFi and batteries last a year.
“We designed Point to be invisible, non-invasive and simple. We think it’s where the future is heading—technology that’s more ambient and unobtrusive. We also think it’s smarter, although that’s an overused word. Most smart things are actually quite dumb, a sensor that just feeds data to the cloud,” said Mattisson. The Point also senses the indoor temperature and allows you to talk back to your thieves through the phone.
There are plenty of home security startups now – Scout and Simplisafe are two that come to mind right now – but this device costs just $69 and has surpassed its funding goal. The device doesn’t have any annoying sensors to plug in or install and looks pretty cool and, presumably, it will ensure your collection of Tang jars will remain intact and unmolested.