On paper, Aumi Mini is a product that sounds like it comes straight from a sci-fi dystopia: a soothing nightlight for your bedroom that will instantly rouse you from your slumber the moment your unfeeling boss decides to email you at 2 a.m. to alert you of something that really could have waited until 9 o’clock in the morning. So long, restful night’s sleep!
In short, it’s a Kickstarter-funded smart nighlight from the same company that previously created the Aumi Bluetooth nightlight back in 2015. But if that device was smart in its own way, the Aumi Mini ups the ante by firmly setting foot into Internet of Things territory, courtesy of Wi-Fi connectivity and full IFTTT (“If This Then That”) functionality. What that means is that, rather than simply illuminating your room while you catch some z’s, you can rig it up to offer a range of visual alerts for virtually any kind of notification.
So what about that nightmarish scenario with work emails then?
“We don’t plan on promoting the idea of using the notification features while you sleep,” creator Mitch Thompson told Digital Trends. “We’re big fans of sleeping, which is why you can set it to disable notifications between specific hours. The best use case is that it offers you visual alerts during the day and can function as a smart night light at night with timers, fully adjustable brightness, and desired color.”
In essence, it can either be your best friend or worst enemy. A flashing light that reminds you at midnight about how many unread emails you’ve got is a horrifying proposition, but one that changes color to indicate upcoming weather alerts could be kind of cool. With IFTTT being what it is, the only limit is the interactions you can personally come up with.
If the idea appeals to you, you can place a pre-order for the Aumi Mini on Kickstarter for just twenty bucks. Higher priced pledges let you buy a number of different nightlights if you want one in every room of your house. Shipping is set to take place this December. Just in time to rig one up to your motion sensors to alert you when Santa climbs down the chimney!
