In late August we covered Piper, a smart home security gadget and app system that shows people how their homes are doing via panoramic video, environmental sensors and Z-Wave home automation (more on Z-Wave below).
Today, Piper’s Ottawa-based makers, Blacksumac announced general availability in North America for the product.
Piper was targeting a funding goal of $100,000 but blew past that with a final count of $309,119.
The cool thing about Piper is that the gadget actually communicates with various electronic applications throughout one’s house using “Z-Wave technology”. Z-Wave’s technology is used by over 250 companies worldwide, and represents a high standard protocol of wireless communication technology for control, monitoring and status reading in homes. Essentially, it uses the “Internet of things” to allow electronic devices in one’s home to communicate to each other via remote control.
Users must download the Piper app to be able to “speak” to the gadget or simply view whats going on in their homes. The free iOS app is available in the App Store, and the Android application is slated to launch in mid-February.
Originally conceived for renters, the company said that Piper has been embraced by condo and apartment dwellers, homeowners, pet owners and parents for its “simple and intuitive use and comprehensive capabilities, as well as for its no-contracts, no-additional-fees policy.”
Blacksumac showed the product off at this years CES conference in Las Vegas, where Piper landed a “design and engineering award honoree”.
The smart and connected home market, is estimated to hit $10 billion USD in 2014 according to wireless industry group GSMA. Blacksumac’s CEO Russel Ure said today’s consumers are constantly connected, communicating with family and friends, making purchases and gathering the latest news and information on the go. “Until now, they had little opportunity to engage with their homes in the same fashion,” he said. “Piper not only makes it simple to secure and monitor the home but also to interact with it while on vacation, at the office or just down the street.”
Piper can now be purchased for $239 USD, in packs of three for $649 USD or bundled with Z-Wave home automation accessories such as smart switches and door/window sensors from $359 to $849 USD. Up to 1,000 snippets of cloud-recorded events are included. Piper is poised to launch in the European market in April 2014.
Top photo from CNET