Jamie Grant has developed the Mi HomeGuard system that can be used to monitor family members young and old, as well as properties and business. It is a low cost, non intrusive wireless sensor security system that monitors motion, temperature, humidity, water ingress and door and window activity in a property and can be used as a security alarm too.
He came up with the idea several years ago when his late mum Irene, then aged 89, was poorly with leukaemia and he wanted to be able to keep a close eye on her. Jamie, who formerly worked with the MoD and the council, said: “Luckily I lived very close to mum but although I visited her regularly, I still wondered if I could do more to monitor her well being.
“Just by chance I’d been working on a monitoring system using a mini computer and I thought this might be an ideal solution for checking that mum was all right. I developed sensors for motion and door open/close activity and installed a basic Mi HomeGuard system in mum’s house.” It meant he could tell by checking an app on his phone or computer when his mum was up and about and what she was doing. Jamie, from Annan, said: “It measures power so you can tell if the kettle or oven is on – and if they leave it on. Mum would leave the oven on and I could see that and I would ring her to tell her, or she would leave the front door open and I could see that too.”
“One of the most important things with mum especially was that I could be at work and check if she was up and then I would be happy. My sister lived in Bristol and she used it too.”
He also has a Mi HomeGuard at his house and once while on holiday in Majorca, he detected when a hair appliance was left on and alerted his daughter, averting a possible danger. Jamie said: “You can see the data in real time, it shows how much activity there is in the house. Once installed, you can check on your property from anywhere. It’s about peace of mind.”
His mum has now passed away, but he says it was also a comfort to her, knowing that her family could check in remotely: “The system ran for 18 months before mum sadly passed away, but by using Mi HomeGuard she stayed totally independent and my sister and I had the luxury of being able to check easily that she was ok,” said Jamie.
He believes other families could benefit and after seven years in development, he is now launching what started as a ‘hobby’ to the market. “It is ready now, I have done the testing and refined it,” he added. “The demo systems have been going for two years with neighbours in Annan and it has worked well. I just want to put it out there and see if there’s any interest.”
To find out more about Jamie’s invention, go to www.mihomeguard.com
