All young parents know this struggle: how much freedom should their toddler have? Letting the baby wonder around and try new things – like, let’s say, climbing a bookshelf – can easily turn into a disaster. On the other hand, it’s simply impossible to always be on your guard. You have to answer a phone call or cook dinner sometimes. This is where Juvo Home Friend comes in with their IoT home alarm system that will notify you if your child does something potentially dangerous.
“It all started with a `Make Safe Happen` commercial broadcasted during Super Bowl 2015. A little boy was explaining that he’ll never learn to ride a bike or get married because he died in an accident at home,” said Matija Srbic, one of the Juvo co-founders. “The `Make Safe Happen` organization website displayed some devastating statistics: every year, millions of children are injured in and around the home, and tragically, thousands of these children die. I knew we have to do something to help these families. This is how Juvo was born.”
The Juvo system is a set of smart sensors that are placed all around the house, especially in the areas that may be dangerous for the child, such as balconies or kitchens. The sensors can distinguish the toddler from pets or grownups, so they are not activated if the family cat happens to pass by. If the child approaches the forbidden area, the sensors send a notification to the parents’ phones or smart watches. In the meantime, an accompanying plush toy starts singing (or talking with a recorded voice of one of the parents) to distract the toddler until mom or dad arrives. Additionally, the sensors gather data about the child’s development.
Both Juvo founders have graduated the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing in Zagreb. Matija Srbic concentrates more on the business development, while Stanko Krtalic Rusendic, the second co-founder, is a programming expert responsible for the technical side of their project. Together with a dedicated team, they have been bootstrapping for the last year to build their product from scratch. Even though this startup is still in a development phase, it has recently attracted the attention of the city of Zagreb and local organizations, which decided to support it with grants.
Juvo didn’t launch yet – the team is currently working on their third prototype that will be finalized within three months. After the prototype is complete, parents who signed for the pre-order will receive the product to test it. The Juvo team plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign by the end of the year. They also wish to join an American startup accelerator program to get a better hang of their next objective – the US market.
