CES 2018: Smart speaker Kevin makes it seem like you're always home

A new smart speaker is here which will help you by flashing lights and by playing TV sounds and other noises to make it seem like someone’s home.

Launched at CES 2018, the speaker named Kevin seems to be inspired by the movie 'Home Alone'. It is made by a Swiss company named Mitipi. The front of the device looks like any other smart speaker, wrapped in fabric, with a flash of brightly colored plastic along the top. What makes it stand out is the back, where it’s covered in LEDs pointing in different directions. These intend to simulate movement since it’ll look like there are multiple light sources that someone’s interacting with.

Kevin is supposed to be set up the doorway somewhere a burglar could possibly check. The speaker will then activate once you’ve left and begin running through lights and sounds that make sense for the time of day and the environment you live in. So it might play shower noises in the morning and TV noises at night. It is enabled with an app which lets you customize the scenarios it runs through.
The company has said that the device is not only about preventing theft but also about making people comfortable since burglary victims often say their bigger issue is the invasion of privacy.

Mitipi plans to launch Kevin on Kickstarter sometime in the coming weeks, where it will be available for between $200 and $250.