Rest assured that when you put your head on the pillow, your nightlight is protecting your kids from shadows lurking in the dark. But if you have a Leeo Smart Alert Nightlight, then you are protecting your family from more than just imaginary monsters under the bed.
While smoke alarms can sometimes be an annoyance, they can save your life. But because they can only be heard when nearby, one startup is selling a smart smoke detector that can detect a smoke alarm from 75 feet away then calls your smartphone to alert you of danger.
The startup company Leoo has finally launched the product after it announced in September that it raised $37 million. The company has a team of people on board, including the San Francisco-based design studio Ammunition, which was also behind Apple's Beats and the robotics company RoboteX.
Created by Beats headphones creator Robert Brunner, the Leeo Smart Alert Nightlight uses sensors to detect when an existing smoke or carbon monoxide alarm goes off in a home. It also has humidity and temperature sensors, perfect for detecting frozen pipes in the winter.
The smart nightlight works simply by being plugged into an outlet. It uses an accompanying app and works with smoke detectors already in your home.
If it "hears" an alarm go off, it will immediately notify your smartphone. Users have the option of hearing an audio file of what the Leeo Smart Alert Nightlight detected or contacting emergency services. If the user doesn't answer the alert, the smart nightlight contacts a list of family members and neighbors that are listed.
Let's not forget the smart technology is also a nightlight. The LED smart nightlight was created because nightlights are commonly placed in the same area where you would also find smoke detectors: the hallway.
"We didn't start out saying, 'Let's design a nightlight,'" says Brunner. With 16 million color options available to choose from on the app, the device also provides protection from both the dark and dangerous smoke.
The Google-owned company Nest sold a similar product, the Nest Protect, in 2013 but its first generation was recalled after the company found that waving hands could turn the device off.
Leoo's smart alert is sold on the startup's website and Amazon for $99 per device.
