How CASPER Security is using an Electron to prevent building fires before they happen. When three engineers joined forces at Kentucky’s in 2015 they found a common cause to rally around — helping their city keep tabs on abandon buildings at risk of catching fire. Nathan, James, and David enlisted the help of fellow hackers at LVL1 and a former NASA engineer to create a device that would make Louisville’s buildings a little less dangerous. Basing their around a Particle , the team designed , short for , to help the city keep tabs on at risk properties. software LVL1 hackathon security design Electron CASPER Completely Autonomous Solar Powered Event Responder Nathan, James, & David of CASPER Security. Sobering statistics According to the , there are between 6,000 and 7,000 vacant properties in their metropolitan area. Left unmonitored and all but forgotten, these structures have become havens for disaster. CASPER’s research of vacant buildings in the city found that nearly 50% of all fires of two or more buildings involved at least one such property. City of Louisville CASPER devices are typically placed in the window or doorframe. The epidemic isn’t limited to Louisville, either. The National Fire Prevention Association an average of 30,200 structure fires occur every year in abandoned properties nationwide, and over 3,000 firefighters per-year are injured putting the flames down estimates Beyond the fires these buildings are prone to floods, structural collapses, and even being used as hideaways for gang and other criminal activity. CASPER certainly found a problem in their community in need of a solution. Keep It Monitored, Keep It Safe CASPER is a discrete monitoring tool that can be fixed to windows, doors and other surfaces within abandoned buildings. Powered by solar energy, and constantly “on” through the use of . CASPER monitors sound, motion, temperature, and more. The data is transferred through Particle’s cellular network to a cloud where users, mostly building owners and city officials, use it to inform safer urban planning. Electron’s deep sleep mode Monitored buildings help save lives. Simple as that. This, of course, is fantastic for preventing fires, floods, break-ins and beyond, but it serves as a significant financial benefit as well. Instead of investing in bolstering their thin corps of inspectors, Louisville is able to remotely monitor thousands of buildings simultaneously. Beyond personnel costs, CASPER saves cities demolition costs as well. A single demolition is estimated to cost over $15k which, if that money was reinvested in CASPER monitoring instead, could pay for a 100 full years of coverage! To take this further, one million dollars could pay for the demolition of 80 buildings, or pay a year of monitoring for 750 different buildings. The option that positively impacts the city community is clear. CASPER devices, powered by the Particle Electron. A Safer Future After a successful pilot in program in Louisville, CASPER took their building — and life — saving services national. Major cities in Missouri, Michigan, and New York have already began to bolster the safety of their communities with CASPER, and even more, especially in the north east, are signing on as the company’s profile grows. To learn more about what CASPER can do for you community, make sure to reach out to them on their . site 👻 This post originally appeared on the Particle blog.
