Voice-operated window blinds that incorporate security sensors and cameras. This may sound slightly far-fetched but is soon to be a reality thanks to Magherafelt, Co Derry-based Bloc Blinds, which will be launching a series of innovative new blind products over the course of the next year.
The company took the honours for the manufacturing category in 2016 at The Irish Times Innovation Awards for its revolutionary system which allows owners to easily change the fabric of the blinds without replacing the barrel, fixtures or fittings, or even having to remove the system from the window.
The problem with traditional roller blinds is what you do with them when they start to show their age. They can’t really be taken down and washed, so the only solution is to replace the complete unit; and if you replace one blind on one widow you’ve got to do the while building. And that means replacing the whole mechanical assembly on each window at considerable expensive.
The Bloc Blinds solutions offers a simpler and far more cost-effective alternative. The fabric-changing roller blind allows the user to swap the fabric of the blind as often as they like without replacing or even removing the complete system from the window. The barrel, fixtures and fittings of the blind all remain in situ; only the fabric is changed.
Interior-design benefits
Along with the considerable cost savings the system also offers considerable interior-design benefits. The ease with which fabrics can be swapped means consumers do not have to worry about matching the blind colours and patterns when they are redecorating rooms.
The system is also very simple to use. Users can swap the fabric of their blinds in seconds by simply hooking off one and hooking on another. The reordering process has also been simplified. By scanning the QR code on the barrel of the blind the customer is taken to the reorder page on the Bloc Blinds website. The measurements from their original order are already stored, so all the customer has to do is choose a fabric and wait for it to be sent out to them ready to be hooked into place.
The innovation has been well received in the market, according to Bloc Blinds managing director Cormac Diamond. "Blinds is quite a traditional market," he says. "Changing from red to off-red can be seen as revolutionary. Bringing in new technologies can be difficult, so it is good to see our product being adopted both in the residential and commercial markets."
He believes this is due to its cost and other clear advantages. “It is environmentally good as well. Companies are increasingly conscious of this and not having to dispose of the barrel and other parts of the system every time they change the blinds is very attractive. They want to do the right thing and this helps.
“Also, in the care sector they have to replace blinds regularly for hygiene and infection-control reasons. The cost and environmental advantages of the system are very beneficial in that area where budgets are very tight.”
The success of the system has benefits for Bloc Blinds beyond the financial. "Our success at The Irish Times Innovation Awards had the effect of focusing our minds a bit more on the opportunities that can come from innovation," Diamond says. "We are just back from the CES show in Las Vegas, where we were looking at IoT [Internet of Things] and other technologies which are relevant to our products. We will be launching a product which is controlled by Amazon Echo later this year. We will also have products which can be controlled by Google and Apple devices."
Security sensors
This innovation will go further than voice-controlled blinds, he points out. “Remote-controlled blinds are not that new but what is innovative is the technologies we are building into them. Many innovative products are not new in their own right but have been relaunched due to the application of new technologies.
“For example, we are looking at building security sensors and cameras into the blinds. You could have a camera in a blind in a child’s bedroom and it could act as a baby alarm. Sensors could be connected to a burglar alarm and you can have external-facing cameras as well. The blinds will be modular in design.
“We can’t expect customers to want all of these features, so they will be able to decide which ones they want when they are buying or add them later. We are planning to exhibit these products at CES 2019.”
Innovation isn’t all about high-tech features, however, and the company has also developed a solution to some of the safety concerns relating to blinds. These concerns centred on children getting caught up in the pull cords or chains on the units.
“We have developed a wand which replaces the chain,” Diamond says. “You twist it one way or another to pull the blind up or let it down and you just pull it. By replacing the chain, you eliminate the hazard.”
