The innovators: burglar alarms upgraded for the smartphone age

Cocoon uses a microphone to detect sounds outside of the hearing range of humans to alert you to intruders

As history has it, the young Isaac Newton found inspiration for the theory of gravity by watching apples fall to the ground. Dan Conlon's big idea was born after smashing the bell box of a faulty alarm system off the side of his house in the early hours of the morning as the ringing kept the neighbourhood awake.

It was not the first time Conlon had had a problem with an alarm. He had previously won a court case after his business broke a contract with an alarm company when the service was frequently out of action and had regular false alarms. So when he and his colleagues were looking for an idea for a new business last year, the home alarm seemed ripe for an overhaul for the internet age.