家裏着火 智能探測器將替你報警

Smoke detectors are a forgotten necessity in our homes. I only think about the detectors in my house about once a year—when the batteries are depleted enough to trigger a piercing chirp that startles me in the middle of the night. Beeepp! Beeepp! Beeepp!

煙霧探測器是一個經常被我們遺忘的家庭必用品。我大概一年只有一次纔會想到家裏還有這麼個東西——也就是當電池電力不足開始報警的時候，那刺耳的“滴滴”聲會在半夜將我驚醒。

You know the drill. Step one: Stumble out of bed and wonder if there’s a real fire. Step two: Knowing there isn’t one, lumber from room to room as the beep taunts and dares you to figure out which one it’s actually coming from. Step three: Locate the room, flip the plastic door open and rip out the detector’s battery (with, let’s be honest, a degree of spite). Step four: Find a replacement battery and put it in. Step five: Collapse in bed.

你知道這聲音有多刺耳。第一步：我會踉踉蹌蹌地從牀上爬下來，看看是不是真的着火了。第二步：發現並沒有着火，在“滴滴”聲中挨個房間尋找，看看究竟是哪一個煙霧探測器報的警。第三步：找到那個房間，打開煙霧探測器的塑料殼，把電池摳出來（說實話，心裏非常不爽）。第四步：找到一個新電池裝上。第五步：一頭扎到牀上繼續睡。

Ah, technology.

唉，高科技。

That well-worn homeowner tradition may soon come to an end. You may not have noticed but household APPliances are slowly gaining the ability to connect to the Internet. With that capability, it was only a matter of time before a company developed a “smart” smoke and carbon monoxide detector.

在千家萬戶中不時發生的這一幕，可能很快就會終結。或許你沒有意識到，如今的家用電器正在慢慢地具備聯接互聯網的功能。有了這種能力，某家企業開發出一款煙霧和一氧化碳“智能”探測器，只是時間問題。

That company, of course, is Nest Labs. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company made headlines when it released its slick Learning Thermostat in 2011, and gained enough buzz to convince Google to acquire it earlier this year. In October, Nest released its second product, the Protect smoke and carbon monoxide detector, but a software glitch forced the company to pull the $129 device from store shelves.

這家公司當然是Nest Labs。2011年，這家總部位於加州帕洛阿爾託市的公司推出了一款精巧的學習型恆溫器(Learning Thermostat)，引起媒體廣泛關注。今年年初，這家公司被谷歌（google）收購。去年10月，Nest Labs推出第二款產品，即Protect煙霧和一氧化碳探測器，但一個軟件故障迫使該公司召回了這款售價129美元的設備。

The Protect returned to stores in late June with updated software and a $99 price tag. Is it still worth the dough? Maybe.

今年6月末，Protect探測器攜升級後的軟件重新上市，價格也下調至99美元。它是否依然值得購買？也許吧。

The Protect gains its powers by connecting to your home’s Wi-Fi network. (It can also work in tandem with a Nest thermostat, should you have one installed in your home. More on this in a minute.) The Protect is capable of sending alerts to your smartphone when it detects an issue. With a combination of lights, audible alarms, and voice commands, the primary goal of the Protect is to do as its name implies—protect you by alerting you of present danger.

Protect可以聯入家庭的Wi-Fi網絡。（它也可以與Nest恆溫器進行協作，前提是如果你家裏也安裝了Nest恆溫器，關於這一點稍後再談。）如果Protect探測到問題，它會向你的智能手機發送警報。另外它也能通過光、聲、語音等警報模式向你報警。總之，Protect的目標正如它的品牌名稱所示——保護你免受危險的侵襲。

Like its thermostat sibling, the Protect is designed with clean lines. With a rounded square shape and a floral hole pattern, it doesn’t really look like a conventional smoke detector—more of a wireless speaker, really. In the center of the unit’s face is a large circular button, surrounded by a light ring. The button can be used to test the device or hush an alarm. The light ring plays an important role in the alert process, using several colors to alert those in sight of impending or immediate danger. The ring also lights up green each night, as you turn off nearby lights, to let you know the unit is functioning properly.

像該公司的恆溫器一樣，Protect的設計也是簡約風格。它採用了方型圓角造型和網眼式開孔，看上去不像傳統的煙霧探測器，倒像是一臺無線音箱。其表面中心處有一個圓形按鈕，旁邊是一圈會發光的圓環。這個按鈕可以用來對設備進行測試，或者關閉警報。按鈕旁邊的光環在報警過程中扮演了重要的角色，它可以發出好幾種顏色的光，警告人們即將或正在出現的危險。每到夜晚熄燈時，這個光環就會自動變成綠色，讓你知道這個設備運行正常。

It takes a smartphone or tablet running Apple’s iOS or Google’s Android, a Wi-Fi network, the Nest companion app, and a few minutes of time to set up the Protect. A combination of voice commands and illustrations—some from the app, some from the device itself—guide you through the process. At one point, the app prompts you to scan a QR code on the back of the unit using your smartphone’s camera to identify each device. Of the two I tested, only one worked with my iPhone, but thankfully the app allows for manual entry of the unit’s unique key.

要安裝這款煙霧探測器的話，你需要一臺運行iOS或安卓系統的手機或平板設備、一個Wi-Fi網絡、Nest的配套應用程序，以及幾分鐘的時間。屆時會有聲音和畫面來指導你完成整個安裝過程——其中一部分來自移動應用，另一部分來自設備本身。安裝到其中一個環節時，這款應用還會讓你用手機掃描設備背面的二維碼來對設備進行確認。我測試了兩臺Protect，但我的iPhone只掃出了其中一臺的二維碼，好在另一臺也可以通過手工輸入產品驗證碼來驗證。

After that, the app instructs you to connect your smartphone to a small wireless network emitted from the Protect, after which the app will request the credentials for your home Wi-Fi network to connect the Protect to the Internet. You must repeat this process for each Protect you install.

隨後，這款應用會指導你把手機聯入Protect發出的一個小型無線網絡。接下來，它會要求獲得你的家用Wi-Fi網絡的授權，以便讓Protect連接到互聯網。每安裝一臺Protect，你都得重複一遍這個流程。

Only after each Protect is wired up digitally can you actually install the unit in your wall or ceiling. The duration and difficulty of this process depends on the type of electrical connection in your home. I live in an older home that lacks a hard-wired network for smoke alarms, so I made sure to purchase the battery powered version of the Protect. (The hard-wired version costs the same.) It took a few minutes to mount the bracket and unit.

只有在Protect連接到你的無線網絡後，你才能把它真正地安裝到牆上或天花板上。這個過程持續時間和難易程度取決於你家的電路。我住在一套沒有安裝煙霧探測器電路的老房子裏，所以我買了一套電池版本的Protect（跟電線提供電力的Protect價格是一樣的）。花了幾分鐘時間才把支架和設備裝好。

When it first begins detecting smoke, the Protect is supposed to give early warning to danger with a combination of a pulsing yellow light and a verbal command. On the two occasions I managed to accidentally set off the alarm—I’m a really good cook, I swear—the Protect skipped the warning alert and went headlong into emergency mode. The two units in my house began talking—”Emergency, there’s smoke in the kitchen!”—their light rings lit up bright red, a familiar fire alarm sound echoed throughout the house, and my iPhone received alerts from the Nest app. I was able to quickly hush the alarm by pressing the center button, but was surprised when the Protect alerted me 10 minutes later, once the smoke had cleared from the room.

當Protect首先探測到煙霧時，按理說它會通過閃爍的黃光和語音口令來進行早期預警。但是有兩次我意外地觸發了警報（我真的是一位不錯的廚師，我發誓），但是Protect省略了報警程序，直接啓用緊急模式。家裏的兩臺Protect開始說話了：“情況緊急，廚房裏有煙霧！”它們的光環開始發出紅光，像火災警報一樣的警笛聲在房子裏迴響，我的iPhone也收到Nest應用發來的報警。我馬上按下Protect的按鈕停止了警報。不過，10分鐘後，雖然房間裏的煙霧已經散盡了，但Protect再次發出警報聲。

In a situation where there might be a fire, it’s smart to be overly cautious. But one of the selling points Nest uses for the Protect is its ability to provide early warnings. In my testing, I never received one.

在可能發生火警的情況下，過度小心也不爲過。但是Nest公司稱，Protect的賣點之一就是它的早期預警能力。但是在我實測過程中，我從來沒有收到過早期預警。

Aside from its primary purpose, the Protect also moonlights as a nightlight. Using its built-in motion detectors, the light ring will turn white when it senses nearby movement in a dark room. In conjunction with a Nest thermostat, those sensors help optimize heating or cooling when you’re not home—though it’s not foolproof, and a thermostat positioned in a low-traffic area like a hallway might enter auto-away mode even when you’re home. At any rate, motion detection is a very subtle feature that helps round out the overall Protect experience.

除了具備探測煙霧功能，Protect還可以作爲夜燈使用，在夜裏發出柔光。在一個黑暗的房間裏，如果它利用內置的運動探測功能，探測到附近有人運動，其光環就會變成白色。如果與Nest的恆溫器協作使用，那麼當你不在家的時候，這些傳感器可以自動優化暖氣和冷氣——不過它不能保證完全。比如，恆溫器如果安裝在走廊這種你不經常經過的地方，哪怕你在家，傳感器可能自動進入外出模式。但不管怎樣，運動探測畢竟是一個非常細膩的功能，還是豐富了Protect的整體使用體驗。

It’s also the sole reason my wife and I elected to purchase a Protect. We recently moved into a fairly large house, and the added detector improves the performance of our existing Nest thermostat, which is mounted in—you guessed it—the hallway. The ability of the mobile app to alert me to trouble wherever I am was icing on the cake.

這也是爲什麼我和妻子都同意購買一臺Protect的原因。我們最近搬到了一幢非常大的房子裏，這臺新買的Protect也改善了我們已有的Nest恆溫器的性能。而那臺恆溫器正是安裝在走廊裏。另外不論我身在何處，家裏一旦有了火災隱患，Nest就會隨時通過移動APP通知我，這種能力也的確算是錦上添花。

Even at $99, the price for Protect is steep, and one that is prohibitive for most people interested in its primary function. (A run-of-the-mill combo device will run you about $25 at Lowe’s.) If you’re a Nest Learning Thermostat owner, the equation is a little less lop-sided. Still, after using the Protect for three months, I appreciate the additional features it incorporates. The night light, green OK light, voice commands, and mobile alerts are all capabilities you never think you’d want in a smoke detector, but they do a great job helping a home feel safer. Not a bad feature of a piece of tech you hope to never have to use.

即使Protect的價格已經下降到99美元，它還是太貴了，尤其是讓那些只關心防火功能的人望而卻步。（家居建材賣場Lowe’s賣的一款普通的煙霧探測器只有25美元。）如果你已經有了一臺Nest的學習型恆溫器，也許你就不會覺得這個價格過分離譜。不過，在試用了Protect三個月後，我還是挺喜歡那些附加功能。它的夜燈、綠色的OK燈、語音控制功能、移動報警功能，都是以前你不會想到會出現在煙霧探測器上的功能，但是它們的確會讓你覺得家裏變得更安全了。對於一種你永遠不希望它真的派上用場的設備來說，這些都是不錯的功能。