Ube Smart Dimmer Adds a Touch of Tech to Lighting

Home automation is getting more and more affordable every day, and Ube currently has a Kickstarter going for its new smart dimmer switch, which brings iPhone-like multitouch control to your multi-room lighting.

It doesn’t just control your lights, though; it can also control anything in your house attached to your Wi-fi network. One finger controls the lights in the room, two fingers the entire house, and after that you can assign gesture control for a whole host of other tasks.

Specific examples given include drawing a “W” to activate your sprinkler system, or assigning drawn numbers to different activities, say to prep the home theater by turning everything on and drawing the shades while you pop the popcorn.

You don’t even have to be in the same room, or the same continent, as the dimmer. The Ube app seems to be where the real money went in this project, which includes an interface for programming the dimmers, and creating a gesture based, eyes-free interface.

While the current app is solely focused on the dimmers, future Ube products will include smart outlets that not only have the full control, but act as a Kill-A-Watt type system measuring your electricity usage, and will even make suggestions on more efficient ways to use power, and let you know when a device is malfunctioning on the circuit (like a blown lightbulb).

The Ube SmartDimmer is currently on Kickstarter in a few different combo packs with progressively bigger discounts. Estimated delivery of final units is set for mid-summer to Kickstarters, with general availability following soon after that.

Via: [Kickstarter]