Nanoleaf wants you to control your smart home with a dodecahedron


A few months ago, Nanoleaf revealed a "Rhythm Starter Kit" that let you synchronize its colorful Aurora light panels with music. At CES, the company released a product designed to control it and more: the Nanoleaf Remote. But instead of a typical handheld remote control, the Nanoleaf Remote is in the shape of a 12-sided polygon -- a dodecahedron if you will -- which changes the lights depending on which side it's on. And the beauty of it is that you don't have to use it with just Nanoleaf products -- it'll work with compatible Apple HomeKit products as well.

So, for example, you could turn one of the sides to adjust the temperature, or you could flip it to another to lift your blinds. Or if you like, you can map one of the sides to a particular "scene" that will do things like turn on your lights and play a favorite song at the same time. And, of course, all of the functions can be designated and assigned using the Nanoleaf companion app.

I checked out the Nanoleaf Remote at the company's booth at CES, and was enamored by its ease of use. Admittedly, I was also very amused by its die-like shape, and I asked a spokesperson if you could roll the Remote like you could a pair of dice. He said yes, you could, but he did warn that there's a chance it could break if you did it that way. At the same time, he said it was made out of a durable plastic, so you could try it out at your own risk.

Changing lights is really as easy as shifting the dodecahedron from side to side. Each side lights up in a different color after it's face up, as a visual cue that an action has been triggered. In our demo, all the Remote did was change the Nanoleaf light panels from one color palette to another, but it did so pretty easily and quickly.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

And the Remote isn't the only thing on display at Nanoleaf's booth. It also gave a preview of an upcoming product, which are Nanoleaf's new square light panels. Like with the triangular panels, they can be customized with other Homekit products. The cool part though, is that while you can only connect up to 30 triangular panels together, you could potentially connect up to 1,000 of these square panels together to create a truly immersive experience.

What's more, the square displays are designed to be water-resistant, and you can touch and glide your hand around on them to change their colors. The reason for the waterproofing? According to a spokesperson, Nanoleaf envisions that these square displays could eventually be installed as a high-end backsplash in a kitchen, or perhaps even a bathroom. That sounds pretty crazy to me, but it would make for quite a conversation starter at your next dinner party.

The Nanoleaf Remote will go on sale later this spring for $50, while the availability and pricing of the square displays are still to be determined.

Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2018.

via Engadget RSS Feed "http://ift.tt/2B31cZW"

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Evernote cuts staff as user growth stalls

Image
Note-taking app Evernote has fallen on hard times of late, culminating in its latest spate of job cuts impacting 15 percent of its workforce (54 employees). CEO Chris O' Neil -- an ex-Googler who took the reins in 2015 -- announced the firings at an all-hands meeting earlier today, reports TechCrunch . In a message on the Evernote blog , O' Neill admitted he'd set "incredibly aggressive goals" for the company in 2018. He continued: "Going forward, we are streamlining certain functions, like sales, so we can continue to speed up and scale others, like product development and engineering." The layoffs follow an exec exodus just weeks ago and the company's recent brand refresh (complete with a refined logo and wordmark). But critics are more concerned about its product, especially the free tier, which they claim lacks the perks to...
Read more

The best air conditioner

Image
By Liam McCabe This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter . When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here . After six summers of researching, testing, and recommending window air conditioners, we've learned that quiet and affordable ACs make most people the happiest—and we think the LG LW8016ER will fit the bill in most rooms. This 8,000 Btu unit cools as efficiently and effectively as any model with an equal Btu rating, and runs at a lower volume and deeper pitch than others at this price. Little extra features like a fresh-air vent, two-axis fan blades, and a removable drain plug help set it apart, too. The LG LW8016ER is a top choice for an office or den, and some people will find it quiet enough for a bedroom, too. If our main pic...
Read more

We won't see a 'universal' vape oil cartridge anytime soon

Image
Pre-loaded cartridges of cannabis concentrate are currently among the most popular means of consumption, and for good reason. They're discreet to use and easy to handle, a far cry from the dark days of 2016 when we had to dribble hash oil or load wax into narrow-mouthed vape pens by hand. But, frustratingly, an ever increasing number of oil cartridge manufacturers employ one-off design standards so that their products won't work with those of their competitors, thereby locking customers into proprietary ecosystems. We've already seen this with nicotine vaporizers -- which has a seen a massive rise in "pod systems" in the last few years, each outfitted with a unique canister and battery built to be incompatible with those of their competition. Is it too late for the burgeoning cannabis industry to set a universal standard for their product designs? ...
Read more