Elephant Door can tell when someone’s trying to break in and scares them off

By David Curry November 19, 2015

Setting up an alarm system might be at the bottom of the list of things to do when you buy a new apartment, giving an open invitation for someone to steal all your valuables.

Elephant Door offers a new way to set up an alarm system without having to fork out hundreds of dollars to cover each room. The new alarm fits onto the door with adhesive tape and can be accessed through a smartphone app or remote control.

Unlike a contact sensor, this device is supposed to know someone’s trying to break in before the door opens. The Elephant Door has a microphone and accelerometers inside to differentiate between when someone mistakenly touches the door handle and when someone is trying to break inside. For the latter, Elephant Door will send an alert to your phone and alert the authorities. An extremely loud alarm will signal anyone close that a robbery is taking place. It’s over 100 decibels, so hopefully you really won’t set it off just by jiggling the door handle — or unlocking it every time you come home.

The alarm charges through micro USB and uses low-energy Bluetooth to connect. Alerts will be sent over 3G wireless, so the device needs a SIM card; no Wi-Fi options are available.

Unlike other smart-home door devices, Elephant Door will not interact with the lock; it will just add another layer of protection. Users will also be able to attach the Elephant Door alarm onto a garage or back door.

For businesses, multiple alarms can be placed at every door, and the business owner can switch all of the alarms off when it is time to open the store.

Elephant Door is looking for $40,000 in backing to get the project underway. There are still some early-bird specials, so you can get one for $149. If the project gets funded and the team sticks to its timeline, it should begin shipping in June 2016.

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