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Detecting Break-Ins Before They Happen


It’s a given that a connected alarm system can be set up to notify a homeowner when an intruder has broken a window or pried open a door. That’s great, but the window is still broken. Myfox, a European company, which made its U.S. debut at CES 2015 has a better idea; sound an alarm before the window can be broken. Myfox’s sensor, the first version which was released in Europe in 2005, detects vibrations and, based on the signature of the vibration (e.g. it won’t alarm if say an errant baseball from a neighbor’s kids hits the front door), signals a 110 dB alarm in their WiFi hub.

These elements are part of a subscription-free integrated alarm system, which includes the aforementioned, battery-powered, window/door sensors, a 110 dB siren and an optional HD video camera (which has a unique privacy shield that covers the lens when the owner is home). The system also includes a key fob, which automatically disarms the system; no messing with keypads anymore. According to the Myfox website, it features open APIs and works with Nest.

Another thing that makes their approach unique is that the homeowner may set up a trusted group of neighbors, friends & relatives to receive alerts, such that they can create a sort of crowd-sourced alarm monitoring system. It also has an interesting mesh configuration, such that if a household loses its WiFi, the system will look for other nearby systems to tunnel through their WiFi.

Although it is new to the U.S., according to their website they have significant deployments in Europe, “More than 25,000 units have been installed worldwide, with over 100,000 windows and doors secured with IntelliTAG sensors.” Their entry on the U.S. stage made a splash, as they  were a 2015 International CES® Innovation Awards Honoree.

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