Home security tech developers Boundary have signed contracts with the consultancy i4 Product Design Ltd (i4PD) and product developer Invent, Design, Build (IDB). i4PD is working with Boundary towards creating a smart alarm. i4PD is carrying out the industrial design and engineering design work needed to take the system to the manufacturing stage.
Among i4PD’s successes is the recent Indiegogo launch of a client’s wellness device, which went on to secure more than $2m in funding.
Andrew Chalmers, Project Manager at i4PD, said: “Our team working on the Boundary project are entirely focused on creating a beautiful product, while providing all the functionality that consumers expect from a smart home security system but at an affordable build cost. The suite will include a control hub complemented by an app to allow remote control of the alarm from their smart phone. The user will also be able to set or unset the alarm using a key fob as back-up.
“We will use our experience to make sure the system has the right balance between functionality and aesthetics. We don’t simply want the smart alarm system to be secure, but also easy-to-use and desirable.”
Focusing on the system architecture and regulatory compliance of Boundary’s product will be IDB, a Glasgow-based company that specialises in helping entrepreneurs go from an idea to launch and beyond. Having worked previously for Honeywell and Ericsson, IDB’s founder Derek Liddle specialises in bringing IoT sensor products to market. Previously as Technical Director of CENSIS, the Glasgow based Innovation Centre, Derek created the IoT Centre helping companies to accelerate their adoption of IoT solutions and the institution to secure a further £9m in funding.
Mr Liddle said: “Boundary is a great project to work on. They are moving away from the obscure, complicated control panel which users find difficult and are bringing the user experience bang up to date with a solution that is not only modern and user-friendly, but also offers grade two alarm system security and police response.”
IDB is providing Boundary with electronics and embedded system design, which will include secure connectivity to sensors and third parties. Due to the specific industry standards to meet, IDB says that it has carried out a great deal of diligence to ensure that the requirements for a grade two alarm system will be in place.
Robin Knox, pictured right, co-founder of Boundary, said: “We are enjoying working with both i4 and IDB as we continue to refine and develop our smart home alarm. Both firms have strong track records in achieving fantastic results and are exactly the safe hands on the tiller that Boundary needs. We are passionate about supporting the local start-up scene and tech community here in Scotland, so with both companies being local to us, we are sticking to our ethos of using home grown talent wherever possible. Both companies are well versed in the application of IoT in products and we believe that the continued rise of connected devices means that the time is right for Boundary’s connected security as a service offering.”
Boundary plans a Kickstarter campaign, to go live in early 2019 and aims to sell between 500-1,000 units, raising between £50,000 to £100,000 in investment. Knox and co-founder, Paul Walton, pictured left, will be drawing on their fund-raising experience to generate a further £2m in investment over 2019, including an angel round early in the year. Their previous business Intelligent Point of Sale was sold to iZettle.
