Every year in the United States alone there are over 357,000 house fires—some of which cause fatalities. With one fire starting approximately every eighty-five seconds, it is estimated that there are 13,000 fire-related injuries and seven deaths reported each year. Of all the things that can start a fire, kitchen equipment is one of the most common causes. Noting this, a Kickstarter campaign is now activated to support “inirv react” which is an innovative way to use brand-new technology to protect homes by making stoves safer.
Fires
Inirv React consists of a knob and sensor units that attach to the ceiling via an adhesive that does not leave marks.
Likewise, the knobs of the Inirv React knobs can be attached to existing electric or gas stoves but are specially designed to first detect, and then react to, hazardous situations. The key features of this invention include a time, burner shut off, gas and smoke detectors, motion and touch sensors, rechargeable batteries, universal adapters, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities, a smartphone app, and LED Halo Rings—just to name a few. The initial idea for
The initial idea for Inirv React was derived from a personal experience of co-founder Akshita Iyer who once went to the movies with his mother only to discover that they had left the stove on. “We rushed home and found the house filled with smoke, resulting in thousands of dollars in damage,” Akshita Iyer explained.
“After some research, we realized not only that stoves today don’t have any Safety features, but also that smoke detectors only serve as an alarm and don’t intervene when a hazard arises! So, my business partner Ranjith and I put our heads together and found an effective way for people to better protect themselves from house fires.”
Design
Akshita noted that the system was very complex and therefore very difficult to design; the knob and sensory units were especially painstaking to develop.
“The knob unit contains numerous electronics in addition to a motor and we needed to cram all of these components into a small and attractive casing and also make sure the motor was large and powerful enough while preventing the components from interfering with each other,” Akshita stated. “The sensor unit also required careful design to ensure that air flow was maximized to aid smoke and gas detection while filtering unwanted particles to minimize false alarms.”
After designing the prototype, Akshita chose to launch a crowdfunding campaign in order to raise non-dilutive funding to help finish development of the product and begin manufacturing.
“We are also using this as a way to get feedback on the product and demonstrate the market opportunity in hopes of raising outside investment in the coming months,” he said. “After acquiring funding, we will complete device development and begin manufacturing. We will also perform extensive beta testing and acquire various certifications to make sure the device performs effectively and reliably. We then expect to start shipping product in December 2017.”
Safety
Although it is currently a fresh and innovative idea, Akshita firmly believes that one day the safety-conscious Inirv React will be a standard household item. “Cooking equipment is the primary cause of house fires,” he declared. “We hope that our device will soon be in homes around the world just as smoke detectors are standard in homes today.
Technological advances in the past few years have made it possible to develop many of the components we used and we think other safety-first items for the home is going to be a huge trend in the coming years.
There is certainly a great need for more innovative technology to make our lives and homes safer. The effects of other hazards such as home intrusions, volatile gases and other types of pollution, and motor vehicle accidents can also be mitigated by improvements in technology. We started this company out of a mutual desire to make a difference in society and improve the lives of others.”
