Brio, The Smart Power Outlet

The Brio power outlet knows the difference between fingers and an electrical appliance.

The creators of the Brio power outlet designed it so that it would keep children safer around the home. The outlet is a smart and safe one that designers say can tell the difference between an electrical appliance being plugged into it and a child's finger, and will only put the power on when it detects an appliance.

The Brio looks the same as a standard power outlet, but it is very different. Normal electrical outlets are always live with 120 volts surging through them. In contrast to the Brio, when unactivated, has zero volts present. The Brio looks for the right level of resistance, which tells it if it's an appropriate appliance like a lamp and not a human finger or fork.

The Brio is on Kickstarter at the moment and you can pre-order one for $39. If all goes as the team plan, the Brio will begin to ship out in May 2015. There are also plans for a second product which will have the name of the Brio Smart and will be able to communicate with sensors around the home and detect things such as fire, flood, or carbon monoxide. The system would then alert the user through a smartphone app. - See more at: Brio Kickstarter

According to the Electrical Safety Foundation International (esfi), "Each day, nearly 7 children are treated in hospital emergency rooms for electrical shock or burn injuries caused by tampering with a wall outlet." - See more at: Injury and Fatality Statistics

Sadly enough, but just as I had suspected, one of the women involved in the project had suffered through a horrible incident involving her daughter and an electrical outlet. She had to have several surgeries and she will never fully recover. 

Necessity is the mother of invention, and what greater necessity is there than the safety of our children?