The Premise. In 2012 alone, there were 8,975,438 property crimes in the U.S. according to the FBI. Collectively, those crimes (which include burglaries, larceny thefts, and car thefts) resulted in a loss of $15.1 billion dollars for the victims, and the rate that agencies made arrests on these crimes is 528.1 arrests for every 100,000 crimes.
The Product. WataSensor aims to improve the security market, and improve the alarming number of property thefts in the U.S. Their product, the WA1, can sense a window breaking, a door opening, or a fire burning and will then send an alert to your smartphone so you can always monitor your property safely. The WA1 is completely portable, and works in any car or house up to 2000 square meters, plus it doesn’t rely on line-of-sight or motion-sensing technology like its competitors. Simply pair it with your smartphone, and you’re protected with the WA1 — no wires or additional set up required.
The Pitch. WataSensor’s video explains just what its product is capable of, and how the company hopes their product can protect property in both the home and automotive markets. According to WataSensor, 90% of homes are unprotected and they hope to change that number for the better. By raising $100,000 the company plans to invest in manufacture tooling for the WA1 and complete their development of the smartphone app.
The Perks. Early adopters, for the price of $249, can be among the first to be protected by the WA1 when it ships in July 2014. That package will also include regular updates from the team and a special edition t-shirt as well. For those more enthusiastic about the product, $400 will include the aforementioned items plus the current generation device which will ship in February.
The Potential. The WA1 will go head-to-head with a huge crowdfunding success story, the Canary, as well as the crowdfunded iSmartAlarm. These products disrupt the security market by creating a device that allows protection without the monthly payments or costly setup procedures, although those who want a professionally monitored option will need to look at options such as the SimpliSafe2. These options also have the advantage of letting you move houses without having to start over and work in just about any setting. Indeed, if the WA1 be even used in a car as the company states, it may be poised to advance home security into apartments where penetration is even lower than in houses.
But AllBe1 is out to top them all, offering about 10 features in one small device with multiple sensors. Those functions are each available to the user via mobile device apps: an out-of-range lockdown mechanism that will prevent anybody else from accessing one’s mobile device when the user steps away, a fitness/steps tracker, the ability to track people or pets, a car alarm, drawer opening detection, theft detection, and the ability to send alerts when the user’s body needs more sun exposure or less. AllBe1 also offers a smart button that can be used to alert somebody at a pre-set number if the user senses danger.