A 13-year-old boy is set to make $410,063 from a doorbell that fools burglars into believing that somebody is inside the house.
Laurence Rook, a British student, told the
Daily Mail: "Most opportunist burglars ring the doorbell first to see if anyone is at home, but Smart Bell has the perfect way to counteract this.
"If you are out and a burglar comes up to your door and rings the doorbell, after 10 seconds Smart Bell will ring through to your mobile phone and you will be able to answer.
"There is a small amount of white noise so it will sound like an intercom and the burglar
will never know that you are not actually inside the house."
The invention, which uses an inbuilt SIM card and existing mobile-phone technology, would also allow homeowners to give instructions to drivers making deliveries at their property, said the newspaper.
Rook has already sold 20,000 units of his Smart Bell device to telecoms company Commtel Innovate and is reported to be in talks to secure a deal for an extra 2,500 units with another business.
When the young teenager heard he was set to make more than $400,000, he told the
Daily Mail: "When I found out I was going to make such as lot of money, I thought, 'Wow, that's a lot of computer games'."
A 13-year-old boy is set to make $410,063 from a doorbell that fools burglars into believing that somebody is inside the house.