Roost Battery Makes Your Dumb Smoke Detector Smarter

If you're looking to add a bit of smart functionality to your home but aren't interested in swapping out your existing devices, the folks behind Roost might have the solution. Roost is a 9v battery that connects your "dumb" smoke alarms to your WiFi network so that alerts are shuttled off to your smartphone, where you can see if they're going off and in which part of the house the detector is located. It also eliminates low-battery chirping that starts late at night, among other things.

Roost is simple to use — take the regular battery out of your smoke alarm, replace it with the smart battery, and download the related app. Each smoke detector can be named so that you know which one is sending out notifications later on ("Kitchen", for example).

The app shows device status, as well as notifications if the alarm goes off, if the battery is low (before it starts chirping), and pre-programmed emergency contacts you might want to get a hold of if a detector goes off. The battery is said to have a life span of 5 years.

Roost is being funded on Kickstarter where it is nearing its $50,000 goal with a little over $36,000 in pledges. There are 35 days left in the campaign, and if all goes as planned, backers will see their batteries shipping starting in June 2015. A pledge of at least $35 will get you a Roost.

SOURCE: Kickstarter