Smart fire detector separates smoke from fire
posted Oct 25th 2005 2:20PM
It may just be a testament to our cooking skills (or lack
thereof), but we find that our smoke detector tends to start wailing pretty much every time we turn on the stove.
Fortunately, new technology may make that a thing of the past (the false alarms, not our cooking). Siemens has
developed what it's billing as a smart fire detector, which comes equipped with two temperature sensors and two optical
ones, connected by a neural net. The optical sensors can determine whether a room is filled with, say, black smoke
indicative of a fire, rather than lighter smoke associated with our attempts at haute cuisine. The neural net analyzes
the data from the four sensors to gauge the likelihood that the info adds up to a fire. The detector can also be
programmed to respond differently in different rooms, ignoring, for example, a steam buildup if it's placed in a
bathroom. We could really use one of these, though we've heard that our would-be dinner guests prefer the old-school
kind, since it gives them an early warning when they should head the other way.
I'm not sure about this. I feel uneasy when people mess with technology that keeps people safe...
you're unsure about people improving tech that makes people safe?
First of all home consumers are not going to get it until it's tried and tested for a few years in the real world in commercial enviroments.
Secondly if anyone is not going to shove junk out the door of their labs it's Siemens.
Too bad we don't have pricing on this yet. It's looks really promising
This is pretty intense, but how is the layman supposed to program the thing? Most people have a hard enough time changing the battery, let alone a neural net.
People Don't have a problem with the actual battery change... The have a problem reaching the darn thing. Especially at 2 in the morning when the freakin' think starts chirping.
Since batteries always die... maybe someone can come out with a smoke-powered detector ;-)
give me one. NOW. My freaking smoke alarm goes off when I turn on the stove with notihng in/on it. It just... senses that the stove is on beeps like crazy. I think it has something to do with the HORRIBLE GAS STOVE that came with my apartment
Wow, is this ever old news. CTV News covered this story years ago.
Dear Engadget,
Please don't try to be funny if you can't be funny. Or "pithy."
Kthx.
Love,
--Chris Cardinal
I am a Msc.student from Germany. I am gonna to take this new detector as my Opportunity Analysis seminar topic,analysising the market potential and its profitability. Please,can someone give me some idea of getting the technoloy data?