If you’ve been warming to the idea of smart coffee makers and air conditioners, but the prices left you cold, the latest kit from littleBits could be a perfect compromise. The Smart Home Kit is designed to let users decide which of their home devices should be more intelligent and build accordingly.
The $249 kit comes with 14 modules and 11 accessories that easily snap together with magnets, no adhesives necessary. A sound trigger, MP3 player, light sensor, and temperature sensor are amongst the included modules. Once a homeowner decides which need should be filled, whether it be an automatic cat feeder or AC controller, he or she can fit the components together, turning their old device into an Internet-connected one.
Democratizing the smart home industry is one more step in delivering on that promise,” said Ayah Bdeir, CEO of littleBits. “The Smart Home Kit is giving people the power and opportunity to take the Internet of Things movement into their own hands, and bring their home to the 21st century, on their own terms.”
Some of the projects listed on the littleBits site include wireless lighting you can turn on from anywhere, a smart fridge that will alert you when the door has been left open, and turning a piece of artwork into a security device with a light sensor. The kit also includes instructions for 14 projects. Because LittleBits has been selling kits for a few years, there’s already a community who upload their own ideas and designs, for even more inspiration.
For now, littleBits owners will have to prioritize their projects, however. The Smart Home Kit comes with one cloudBit, the module that connects the newly smart device to the Internet. An extra cloudBit costs $60, if users can’t contain their creativity.
The kit is available for preorder, with shipping starting in early December, as well as at RadioShack beginning today.
We know a few people who will definitely have this on their holiday wish lists, but we will have the theme song for that Nickelodeon TV show Littl’ Bits in our heads for the rest of the day.
