When you hover near the couch, chances are, you want to switch on the lights, turn on the TV, and start working on your Netflix queue. Since the couch isn’t connected yet, there’s no way to automate these events so that they all happen without having to lift a finger. The Dot can help with that.
Billed as a “physical push notification” device, it allows you to trigger events based on where you are and what you’re doing. That way, you don’t need to manually launch apps and actively control your smart devices every single time, as you can program events to be carried out depending on your location. In a way, it works much like Philips’ Hue Motion Sensor, albeit for the entirety of your connected devices, rather than just the lighting systems.
Dot consists of a small disc that you mount on any area you want to trigger events, whether on your phone or on your growing roster of connected devices. The disc will monitor your phone’s presence the entire time, then launch its pre-programmed roster of actions whenever it’s in the vicinity. For instance, it can start playing music and launch the navigation app on your phone as soon as you enter the car, turn off all the lights when you enter the bedroom, or bring up a recipe app whenever you enter the kitchen.
Features include a weatherproof construction (you can mount them outside), a programmable color-changing LED that can serve as onboard notification, and a built-in battery good for up to a year of use. And, yes, there’s no limit to the amount of phones it can pair with, so you can personalize the events for every person in the house.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for Dot. Pledges to reserve a unit starts at $20.