LONDON - A firm in Edinburgh has designed a Bluetooth-based alarm that can tell absent-minded technology geeks when they have left their mobile phone or laptop behind.

The device called ‘Nio’, a result of years of research, is soon to hit the shops.

A report on this innovation describes it as a keyring-sized box of tricks that emits an alarm whenever a person’s device is more than a certain distance away.

It uses Bluetooth technology to create an invisible wire, and whenever this wire is broken-for example, when the user leaves the phone behind-both it and the keyring emit a shrill alarm sound.

Nio is the brainchild of 34-year-old gadget whizz Ben Hounsell, director of Tenbu Technologies based in Giles Street.

He says that the alarm may also make it easy to spot a potential theft.

He, however, advises people against challenging the thieves if their pockets start screaming.

“My advice would be don’t be a hero. Most thieves are opportunistic and the chances are if the mobile is attracting attention they’ll just drop it and run,” the Scotsman quoted him as saying.

Nio can be set to go off anywhere between two and 25 metres, and it can emit a police siren, a whoop or a Catchphrase buzzer sound.

Hounsell said: “We see this device as a ‘gadget guardian’ - it’s there to protect your device if it gets mislaid or stolen. The name Nio comes from Japan and is named after the fearsome looking statues outside Japanese Bhuddist temples that are there to protect the temple. Tenbu are the guardians of Bhuddist law in Japan. The names will also appeal to Japanese customers, who are well known for their love of gadgets, especially computers and smart phones.”

The device is currently available on their website www.bluenio.com.

Its creators are said to be in talks to sell it through Amazon within the next few months, and a number of High Street hardware stores by next year.

They have also approached government and health authorities with the advice that their innovation may prove helpful in preventing personal data and devices. (ANI)