We all want to feel that our homes and property are safe, not just from intrusion, but from accidents and system failures as well. The traditional approach to home security, if you can afford it, is to install pricey, complicated, monitored systems that turn your home into a fortress. The cost of those systems—for purchase, installation, and monthly service—can be staggering.  Their complexity explains why some owners simply stop using them. And their physical installation requirements make them totally impractical for renters.

Recently, new systems have appeared that offer simpler, more affordable solutions. But while these are a step in the right direction, they leave critical gaps in protection. That’s why we created Moxie.

Moxie is smart, simple, and almost impossible to bypass. It’s been designed by experts in embedded systems to do more in an efficient and compact package and be less expensive than even the newest security systems coming onto the market. Moxie is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, but contains sensors that track motion, temperature, humidity, and power continuity. Its capabilities can be expanded with a variety of wireless external sensors. It can run forever on AC power or for months on its own rechargeable battery. And most important, when it detects a problem it sends a message directly over a cellular link to one or more cellphones so you can decide how to respond whether you are a block away or halfway around the world.

Why Cellular?

Moxie’s direct cellular link has significant advantages over both the hardwired phone connections of traditional security systems and the Wi-Fi connectivity of do-it-yourself systems. Traditional wired systems are complex and expensive, and newer systems that connect via Wi-Fi to “the cloud” can have reliability issues. The problem with Wi-Fi is that when power goes down, so does Wi-Fi, and the kinds of things that interrupt power areexactly the ones you want to know about when you’re away from home.

Connecting to Wi-Fi isn’t always easy because most of us protect our Wi-Fi with security protocols and firewalls that can make access a little tricky. Cellular, on the other hand, just works. And because Moxie uses cellular data signals rather than the voicel, it even works in places where voice connections are spotty. The reason Moxie works where voice doesn’t is simple. A cellular voice connection requires a continuous signal of 13 kbps (kilobits/second); data requires less than 0.5 kbps, which works far beyond the radius around a cell tower at which voice drops off. In other words, Moxie doesn’t need a “reliable” cell signal to send an alert; virtually any signal will work.

That  brings up another advantage of cellular notification over Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi has a very limited range. Sometimes it doesn’t even work at the far end of a home. Even if Wi-Fi covers the house, however, it may not reach vulnerable locations like garages or outbuildings. And you may not even have Wi-Fi away from home, at the lake or other vacation home, or in your RV, but you probably do have cellular coverage there, which is why Moxie works even when Wi-Fi-dependent systems don’t.

Why Fundable?

Creating Moxie has been an ambitious undertaking from the start. Making a system like this work well, include cellular connectivity, and be both robust and compact requires a lot of technical skill and development experience. Keeping the price modest means producing and selling in volume, which is why we’ve set a substantial Fundable goal. And while it’s tempting to throw in “everything but the kitchen sink,” we’ve had to carefully consider what we could do well right out of the gate at a price virtually anyone could afford. At the same time, we didn’t want to put a cap on Moxie’s capabilities; in fact, we’ve done exactly the opposite.

A System that Grows

We’re creating a system that will monitor critical functions—motion, temperature, humidity, and power continuity—from day one, but that can be easily expanded with external sensors including wireless temperature and water presence sensors specifically for home monitoring.

Easy to Use

Moxie Hardware Block Diagram

• At the heart of the device is a sophisticated low-power microcontroller selected to extend battery life. 
• The Skywire™ embedded cellular modem is our own NimbeLink product, currently the smallest on the market. (In case you care, it complies with the popular XBEE interface standard, supports CDMA 1xRTT communication, and is the first in a family of products designed to also support GSM and LTE technologies.)
• The motion sensor detects an infrared heat signature, so it won’t be triggered by a blowing curtain or similar motion. And because it needs to operate continuously, it was also selected for its low power requirements.
• The temperature and humidity sensors report to the microprocessor, which can be easily programmed with user defined ranges and will send an alert when those ranges are exceeded.
• Moxie communicates to external sensors via Bluetooth low-energy radio over a range of up to 50 meters.
• Moxie’s can also communicate locally with Bluetooth enabled cellphones. This allows Moxie to detect your presence and automatically disarm motion detection when you come in; this is similar to the key-fob-based “owner-presence” detection in many new cars.
• Moxie uses the same kind of lithium ion battery technology used in cellphones. This should keep Moxie operating its internal sensors without external power for about six months. The addition of external sensors will decrease battery life, but this can be easily overcome by locating Moxie where it can be plugged into AC power.
• The capacitive touch sensor on Moxie’s lower face responds to finger-touch and can be used to arm and disarm the device. (Moxie can, of course, also be armed and disarmed remotely from your cellphone.) The sensor has no moving parts to wear out and requires a two-second touch to prevent accidental triggering.

Economical

Moxie costs a fraction of what traditional security systems cost and will be, to our knowledge, the lowest priced of any self-contained security notification product on the market. And where other products require additional base systems to monitor a large home or area, Moxie can extend its reach from a single base system with low-cost, wireless sensors placed remotely and communicating via Bluetooth with the base system, keeping down the cost of monitoring a larger area.

We anticipate that the basic Moxie unit, with internal sensors will be priced at $199 and will come packaged with a low-cost cellular plan billed monthly at a rate of approximately $9.99.  All devices purchased through Fundable get 3 months free service!

Can They Do It?

In deciding whether to support this campaign you have every right to know the credentials and capabilities of the team you are being asked to back. NimbeLink, the company that is producing Moxie, has already developed, and is both selling and supporting TextAlert, a cellular monitoring and notification system designed for industrial and commercial applications. 

Like Moxie, TextAlert monitors motion, temperature, and power, and sends SMS text alerts regarding monitored events to cellphones and data systems. And, like Moxie, it can support external sensors. TextAlert is currently in use in a variety of commercial settings and is regularly being tested for use in new applications. Moxie will draw on some of the same technologies used in the TextAlert product but is purpose designed for residential and other non-commercial uses. Moxie is not in any sense TextAlert Light. Nor is it intended to replace TextAlert. The two will remain separate product lines, each with its own market.

• Successful launch and sales of TextAlert to Small-Medium sized businesses
• Established Verizon Solution Partnership status in May of 2013
• Completed Verizon OD certification in September 2013 for critical sub-component, the Skywire™ embedded cellular modem