Wave hello to the gesture-controlled smart home with OneCue

By Drew Prindle November 24, 2014

onecue gesture control smart home — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Just about every smart home gizmo in the biz can be controlled with an app of some sort. You name it, and there’s probably somebody who’s developed a way for you to operate it from afar with nothing more than your mobile device.

That’s all well and good, but it’s also a bit problematic. Smartphone switches are great for turning multiple things on or off all at once, but when you only need to flip one light on, it’s often far more cumbersome and labor-intensive to fire up your phone, launch the appropriate app, and hit the switch than it is to just get up off the couch and turn the lights on the old-fashioned way.

Israeli startup eyeSight aims to fix all of that. Rather than having you whip out your phone every time you need to switch something on or off, the company’s new OneCue device is designed to recognize gestures — allowing you to control all your connected devices like Tom Cruise in Minority Report.

OneCue supports infrared-controlled devices like TVs, Blu-Ray players, AV receivers, and even certain gaming consoles. Similar to a universal remote, it can “learn” to control just about any IR-controlled device in existence.

However, IR isn’t without its shortcomings (namely, it requires line-of-sight to work), so OneCue also supports Wi-Fi. This makes it possible to connect the device to dozens of different smart home devices. Currently it only works with Nest thermostats, Philips Hue bulbs, Apple TV, and Xbox, but eyeSight has plans to expand connectivity options in the future.

OneCue isn’t quite available for purchase just yet but can currently be pre-ordered for $130 on the company’s website — about $70 cheaper than what it will eventually retail for. EyeSight is nearing the end of the manufacturing process and expects to ship OneCue to customers sometime in early 2015.

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Drew Prindle is an award-winning writer, editor, and storyteller who currently serves as Senior Features Editor for Digital…

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