App turns old phones into smart smoke detectors

Home surveillance experts CleverLoop are turning old Android phones into smart smoke detectors with the Smokey app.

Personal safety is an important concern, and smart systems are increasingly helping users feel reassured — there are IRL safe internet exchange zones and a one-push panic button for group chats. For remote fire safety, intelligent home video monitoring company CleverLoop has released a free Android app called Smokey.

Smokey turns old phones into smart, remote surveillance devices. Users connect an old phone to a power source in a central home location and turn on the Smokey app. Using only the phone’s audio system, Smokey runs while the device is asleep. Should the house fire alarm go off, an emergency alert will be sent to the registered email account. The CleverLoop team says they are currently developing an iOS version as well.

How else could redundant devices be turned into smart home hacks?