SAN FRANCISCO – In an announcement made at the F8 Developer’s Conference held here March 25, Facebook revealed that startup Roost will be among the first companies to team-up with the company for its Internet of Things (IoT) initiative.
Roost is the manufacturer of an innovative Wi-Fi battery – dubbed the Roost Smart Battery – which has the capability to turn existing smoke detectors into “connected” smoke detectors, according to the company. The battery’s Wi-Fi technology has been designed into a form factor similar to a traditional 9V battery. The Roost Smart Battery pairs with the users’ Android or iOS devices, and sends an alert to an app on their handsets whenever the smoke detector sounds an alarm.
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According to the announcement made by Facebook at the F8 conference, Roost’s Wi-Fi battery efforts will be supported by Facebook-owned Parse mobile-infrastructure firm, which was acquired by the social network in 2013.
With Roost apparently set to join Facebook’s efforts in the IoT arena, the Roost Smart Battery will use Parse’s backend technology to enable cloud-connected devices to transmit notifications from the Roost to the users’ mobile handsets.
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Though there is no official disclosure about the expected availability of the battery, which will likely be priced at $40, it is speculated that Roost will start shipping the pre-orders of the battery in the second quarter of 2015.
