You’ll Never Have to Worry About Noisy Neighbors Again with This Gadget

The gadget likens itself to a "smoke alarm for noise."

NeighborsPeter Hermes Furian

What are your upstairs neighbors doing up there? Although you may never know exactly they’re doing to make all that racket, you just want them to cut it out. If heading upstairs and kindly asking them to quiet down doesn’t work, then NoiseAware may have your solution.

The product bills itself as a “smoke alarm for noise,” which serves as a pretty accurate representation of what the product does, albeit a bit simplified. NoiseAware’s hardware consists of an audio sensor installed in your residence and connected software on a phone or laptop.

The sensor is built to distinguish noise considered to be a nuisance from just the standard stuff, as it keeps track of noise trends over time. There’s a difference between a sudden avalanche of fine china pouring out of the linen closet (why was that stored there?) and a toga party being held until the wee hours of the morning. And the sensor will be able to tell.

A landlord is able to then look at the data either in real time or after the fact to determine when a noise disturbance occurred, or if one is actively occurring. Push notifications are sent to the landlord’s cell as well if there’s a disturbance.

The company was founded by Dave Krauss, a former property manager, and Andrew Schulz, an electrical engineer and software programmer.  

For those concerned about privacy issues, don’t sweat it. Krauss explained that the device only measures noise level and “cannot interpret language by design,” according to Fast Company.

Currently, 1,500 devices have been installed in around 1,000 buildings across the U.S. All told, NoiseAware has logged 250 years’ worth of data from short-term rentals. The product is only a year old, but plenty long in the tooth.

Source: Fast Company