Whenever I hear the words “connected home,” I can’t help but dream up some futuristic scenario where my house is suddenly uber minimalistic and all of my devices are either automated or activated at the snap of a finger. But in reality, I have yet to join the IoT club simply because I’m afraid that having all of these connected devices could actually get too complicated. Thanks to a new device launched today on Kickstarter, the future I’ve imagined is finally here.
Welle is a smart device that instantly turns any surface into a smart interface, effectively controlling all of your connected devices in one location via handwriting and gestures. No more having to switch between apps. Welle is here to save the day.
Now, you may argue that this technology already exists, but Welle sets itself apart with a certain fluidity that you just can’t get with other devices. From what I’ve seen, conventional gesture detectors only provide single gesture readings. Take for example, Knocki, a similar gadget where you can assign and activate your connected devices depending on how many “knocks” you do on your surface. While this is a very cool device, and likely preferable for some, I imagine myself in this daily scenario where I’m activating everything one-by-one as I try to remember the amount of knocks I assigned to each device.
Going back to Welle, controlling all of your devices is as simple and effortless as it gets. Users have the freedom to assign each device to a particular hand-written letter. So, “C” controls the Coffee Machine, or “S” for speakers. After taking control of the targeted device with the assigned letter, users can then use the second-level gestures such as “roll right” to turn up volume or “slice right” to skip to the next song for additional control.
After a first-time app installation, users can connect Welle to their WiFi and set up connections between these target functions and devices. Then, place Welle on any surface, whether it is a table or wall, and let the magic begin.
Pre-order Welle here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1781885077/welle-turn-any-surface-into-a-smart-interface?token=74255447