Skip to main content

RoomMe is a smart home sensor that can tell when you're in the room

RoomMe
It wasn’t so long ago that the pinnacle of convenience was being able to talk to your appliances to get them to function. But alas, how quickly we grow inured to the technology of yesterday. Now, we want even more from our smart home devices — we want them to be able to read our minds. And getting close to achieving that desire is a new smart home solution from Israeli company Intellithings. It’s called RoomMe, and it purports to identify and adjust “everything in your smart home to your specific likings, no manual control required.”

In essence, RoomMe syncs with your smartphone, and learns what your preferences are when it comes to light, temperature, and even security, all by way of a few discreet sensors.

“Too many times instead of hearing what you ask for, Virtual Personal Assistants give you what they think you ask for,” the Intellithings team noted. “What if they could simply sense when you are in the room and give you exactly what you want, without [you] waving your arms or screaming into a device?”

This appears to be the future RoomMe envisions. Simply apply the settings you’d like for a certain room on your RoomMe app, then the RoomMe device will sense when your smartphone is in that room, and make adjustments accordingly.

But wait, you say, what if I live with someone with different preferences than I? Not to worry, RoomMe apparently has that covered, too.

If you and your roommate can’t agree on the ideal temperature setting (let’s say you prefer it to be cold at night while he or she prefers it to be warm), RoomMe will sense when you’re alone in the room, and lower the thermostat. But if you’re in there together, you can have RoomMe set a middle-of-the-road temperature so that everyone is happy (or at least equally unhappy). Similarly, you can program RoomMe to recognize certain people, and set your security devices to record when particular individuals (let’s say your nanny) is around.

Of course, it’s unclear as of yet exactly how precise this technology really is, but now that it’s launching on Indiegogo, brave early adopters can check out its effectiveness for themselves. It’s selling for $139 with a shipment date of May 2018.

Editors' Recommendations

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
Is a Roku Smart Home Subscription worth it?
roku is now in the home security business 3

Roku has started branching out into the smart home market, offering a variety of cameras, sensors, and other gadgets to help keep your home safe. The products are usable without a subscription, but opting for one of two Roku Smart Home Subscriptions will get you a few premium security features.

However, not every home needs to sign up for the plan, and the free plans might be more than adequate for most households. Here’s a closer look at the Roku Smart Home Subscriptions to see if you should sign up.
What is the Roku Smart Home Subscription?

Read more
How to set up your smart home for beginners
Vont Smart LED Light Strip installed in home.

If you’re just beginning your smart home journey, it can be difficult to figure out where to start. From smart thermostats and smart speakers to robot vacuums and light bulbs, the number of gadgets on the market is truly staggering -- and can quickly become overwhelming to newcomers.

Thankfully, piecing together a smart home is pretty simple. While you can easily sink hours into automating every aspect of your household, all that's really required for a “smart home” is a few products and their accompanying apps on your phone. If you need some guidance getting started, here are some tips to help set up your smart home.

Read more
Aqara launches U100 smart lock with full Apple HomeKit support
A person unlocking the Aqara U100 smart lock with their phone.

The list of smart locks that support Apple HomeKit isn’t quite as impressive as those of Google Home and Alexa, but Aqara has officially added one more to the list with the Aqara Smart Lock U100. Clocking in at $190 and now available on Amazon, the premium smart lock offers full support for Apple HomeKit -- along with tons of cool features that should position it as a top option for smart home enthusiasts.

As you’d expect, the Aqara U100 comes with a keypad that lets you enter a passcode to unlock the deadbolt. However, you’ll also find a fingerprint scanner that can hold up to 50 unique prints and the option to set up Apple home keys to unlock it with your Apple Watch or iPhone. Aqara also tossed in a physical key in case of emergencies.

Read more