家里着火，智能探测器将替你报警

    烟雾探测器是一个经常被我们遗忘的家庭必用品。我大概一年只有一次才会想到家里还有这么个东西——也就是当电池电力不足开始报警的时候，那刺耳的“滴滴”声会在半夜将我惊醒。

    你知道这声音有多刺耳。第一步：我会踉踉跄跄地从床上爬下来，看看是不是真的着火了。第二步：发现并没有着火，在“滴滴”声中挨个房间寻找，看看究竟是哪一个烟雾探测器报的警。第三步：找到那个房间，打开烟雾探测器的塑料壳，把电池抠出来（说实话，心里非常不爽）。第四步：找到一个新电池装上。第五步：一头扎到床上继续睡。

    唉，高科技。

    在千家万户中不时发生的这一幕，可能很快就会终结。或许你没有意识到，如今的家用电器正在慢慢地具备联接互联网的功能。有了这种能力，某家企业开发出一款烟雾和一氧化碳“智能”探测器，只是时间问题。

    这家公司当然是Nest Labs。2011年，这家总部位于加州帕洛阿尔托市的公司推出了一款精巧的学习型恒温器(Learning Thermostat)，引起媒体广泛关注。今年年初，这家公司被谷歌（google）收购。去年10月，Nest Labs推出第二款产品，即Protect烟雾和一氧化碳探测器，但一个软件故障迫使该公司召回了这款售价129美元的设备。

    今年6月末，Protect探测器携升级后的软件重新上市，价格也下调至99美元。它是否依然值得购买？也许吧。

    Protect可以联入家庭的Wi-Fi网络。（它也可以与Nest恒温器进行协作，前提是如果你家里也安装了Nest恒温器，关于这一点稍后再谈。）如果Protect探测到问题，它会向你的智能手机发送警报。另外它也能通过光、声、语音等警报模式向你报警。总之，Protect的目标正如它的品牌名称所示——保护你免受危险的侵袭。

    像该公司的恒温器一样，Protect的设计也是简约风格。它采用了方型圆角造型和网眼式开孔，看上去不像传统的烟雾探测器，倒像是一台无线音箱。其表面中心处有一个圆形按钮，旁边是一圈会发光的圆环。这个按钮可以用来对设备进行测试，或者关闭警报。按钮旁边的光环在报警过程中扮演了重要的角色，它可以发出好几种颜色的光，警告人们即将或正在出现的危险。每到夜晚熄灯时，这个光环就会自动变成绿色，让你知道这个设备运行正常。

    Smoke detectors are a forgotten necessity in our homes. I only think about the detectors in my house about once a year—when the batteries are depleted enough to trigger a piercing chirp that startles me in the middle of the night. Beeepp! Beeepp! Beeepp!

    You know the drill. Step one: Stumble out of bed and wonder if there’s a real fire. Step two: Knowing there isn’t one, lumber from room to room as the beep taunts and dares you to figure out which one it’s actually coming from. Step three: Locate the room, flip the plastic door open and rip out the detector’s battery (with, let’s be honest, a degree of spite). Step four: Find a replacement battery and put it in. Step five: Collapse in bed.

    Ah, technology.

    That well-worn homeowner tradition may soon come to an end. You may not have noticed but household appliances are slowly gaining the ability to connect to the Internet. With that capability, it was only a matter of time before a company developed a “smart” smoke and carbon monoxide detector.

    That company, of course, is Nest Labs. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company made headlines when it released its slick Learning Thermostat in 2011, and gained enough buzz to convince Google to acquire it earlier this year. In October, Nest released its second product, the Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector, but a software glitch forced the company to pull the $129 device from store shelves.

    The Protect returned to stores in late June with updated software and a $99 price tag. Is it still worth the dough? Maybe.

    The Protect gains its powers by connecting to your home’s Wi-Fi network. (It can also work in tandem with a Nest thermostat, should you have one installed in your home. More on this in a minute.) The Protect is capable of sending alerts to your smartphone when it detects an issue. With a combination of lights, audible alarms, and voice commands, the primary goal of the Protect is to do as its name implies—protect you by alerting you of present danger.

    Like its thermostat sibling, the Protect is designed with clean lines. With a rounded square shape and a floral hole pattern, it doesn’t really look like a conventional smoke detector—more of a wireless speaker, really. In the center of the unit’s face is a large circular button, surrounded by a light ring. The button can be used to test the device or hush an alarm. The light ring plays an important role in the alert process, using several colors to alert those in sight of impending or immediate danger. The ring also lights up green each night, as you turn off nearby lights, to let you know the unit is functioning properly.