March 2012 = Sonis Europe has developed a new home alarm system which houses a single sensor in the control keypad.

Sonis Europe, led by Bill Marr, has now completed its equity fundraising by securing equity from Discovery Investment Fund. Sonis was introduced to Discovery Investment Fund and to two other angel syndicates by DC Consulting, although the two other syndicates who expressed interest in investment withdrew once it was clear Discovery Investment Fund had quickly reached Heads of Terms with Sonis.

The alarm system, which has been in development for some time uses sound recognition to determine whether a door or window has been opened. The business was started by Bill Marr after leaving Marconi. He had plenty of experience of the systems currently in use, which use an array of contact sensors and infra-red beams, but felt that the increasing sophistication of such systems led to unnecessary complexity, the end result of which was that systems are not appropriately utilised, or are occasionally not used at all. He felt that sound recognition was the answer to simplifying an alarm system, as it enabled a single sensor to replace the range of different sensor types in conventional systems; doors and windows make much the same noise when being opened, so he began by capturing the sound signature common to them all.

Sonis Europe now has a production model of the alarm system ready and will next be completing the tooling for the device, ready for a market launch in June 2012. The company plans to market directly to DIY chains in the UK, to electrical retailers and installers and to traditional installation forms. The system will be available for purchase online with video footage of its capability already commissioned.

Further information is available at http://soniseurope.com