Smart power outlets are great, as they let you block and clear the passage of electricity to any connected item any time you please. While that’s great for use with appliances and electronics that turn on automatically, it’s not really useful for those you’ll still need to press a power button in order to get going. The Adaprox Fingerbot should work a whole lot better.
A single-purpose robot finger (or a very small robot arm, whichever you prefer), the device is designed to press any button or switch at your command, so you can turn on the TV, the helmet coffeemaker, or the living room light without being anywhere near its vicinity. Whether you want to start the coffee maker without getting out of bed, turn on the living room air-conditioning 15 minutes before you actually get home, or switch on the light in the basement before you go down there, this thing lets you do that without having to invest in expensive smart home devices or fiddle with your home’s electric wiring.
The Adaprox Fingerbot consists of a small cube with a finger-like appendage on one side, which it can use to press down on any toggle, switch, or button. Each one comes with a square strip of 3M VHB double-sided tape that you can place on any side to secure it to walls, desk surfaces, and even device enclosures. You can stick it to your desktop with the tip pointed at the power button to let you switch on your PC any time you please, as well as to a section around a wall switch, the side of your coffee maker, or right next to any device you want to automate to make them accessible to your smart home setup.
The finger appendage, by the way, can be lengthened with an extension or replaced entirely by one of four available fingers. There’s one with a capacitive tip for touchscreens, one for moving toggle controls, one designed specifically for wall switches, and one designed for toggle switches. They also offer spacers that you can attach to the sides of the device if you need to mount it at a taller height.
The Adaprox Fingerbot can be controlled from a companion app (iOS and Android), where you can keep track of all your Fingerbots and control them individually. You can tap a control on the app to trigger a finger to move, as well as set timers, so you can set the coffee maker to brew up a batch as soon as the clock hits 6AM, so you can get off bed with a fresh pot ready and waiting. It can also integrate with both Siri and Google Assistant, so you can easily trigger any finger using voice command on your phone.
An optional device called Adaprox Bridge can act as a central control point for all Fingerbots installed in your home. Adding this opens them to even more functionality, including Alexa support, Google Home integration, IFTTT support, and access to the cloud API, in case you want to write your own code to control it.
A Kickstarter is currently running for the Adaprox Fingerbot. You can reserve a unit for pledges starting at $29.