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…
Samsung Ballie is a rolling smart home hub with a built-in projector
Samsung Ballie being chased by a dog.

Samsung first revealed Ballie -- its rolling smart home hub -- at CES 2020. Now, at CES 2024, the adorable robot is making a triumphant return, this time sporting a new built-in projector. Samsung didn't have a physical Ballie roving around at CES, but the team showed off a home bot demonstration video, revealing how the robot has evolved over the years.

If you're unfamiliar with Ballie, think of it as a roving smart home hub, capable of taking orders from you and syncing with the rest of your smart home. Along with dishing out commands to your connected gadgets, it can serve as a patrolling security guard, giving you a live stream of your home while at work or on vacation.

Read more
Kohler reveals luxurious smart home products that turn your bathroom into a spa
The Kohler Anthem+ on a white table.

Kohler showed off a bevy of new products at CES 2024, including a luxurious lineup of new smart home gadgets, all of which are designed to transform your bathroom into a "personal sanctuary." Along with updates to the Numi 2.0 smart toilet and high-end Stillness Bath, Kohler showed off a new fan, sink, and bidet, as well as smart valves and more.

The Anthem+ Digital Control was one of the most intriguing items at the Kohler booth, as can power nearly all aspects of your bathroom from a single control panel. Via its touch display, it allows you to control water, light, sound, and steam. All told, it can connect to 12 water outlets to power a variety of sprayers, showerheads, and body sprays.

Read more
Segway expands its smart home footprint with robot lawn mowers at CES 2024
The Segway i Series being set up.

Segway -- the company responsible for Paul Blart's preferred mode of transportation -- already has a surprisingly robust smart home lineup. The company expanded its catalog at CES 2024, revealing a new series of robot lawn mowers (Navimow i Series) and a new portable power station (Segway Cube Series).

The upcoming Navimow i Series makes a few big improvements over Segway's existing H Series. Along with the ability to work without wires (which are typically used to set boundaries for the robot), the i Series employs a technology known as the Exact Fusion Locating System (EFLS). Segway says this will let the robot lawn mower better track its location and ensure it's cutting your lawn as close to specifications as possible.

Read more