Start-up developer Goldee isn’t known for making hardware, but that is about to change. The company’s first product is a clever app for a smartphone or tablet that works with Philips Hue Web-connected lightbulbs. The Goldee app picks out colors of your choosing and slowly cycles through them, making the lighting in your room dynamic and constantly in flux. It’s definitely one of the better apps available for Philips Hue, but the company isn’t stopping there.
It seems that through all its experience in building a smartphone-controlled lighting app, they recognized a fundamental flaw these kinds of systems – the fact that you’ve got to use your phone/tablet to operate them. Don’t get us wrong, connected bulbs are cool and all, but switching them on and off with a smartphone application can be cumbersome and inconvenient at times. Flipping them on with a switch is easier, but most analog switches we use today simply don’t allow for adequate control over a high-tech lightbulb’s many functions. There isn’t a happy medium between the two, so Goldee decided to make a one. Introducing the Goldee Light Controller.
In addition to allowing you to turn your smart bulbs on or off and fiddle with the color right from a wall mounted interface, the Goldee Light Controller comes with a slew of sensors (proximity, ambient light, sound volume, and motion) that work together to continuously gather information about the environment it’s in. All of that information is then processed in the blink of an eye and used to perform a variety of intelligent functions that respond to your lighting needs.
Using all of these sensors in tandem, Goldee can do things like automatically turn lights on or off based on the level of natural light, turn lights on or off when you enter or leave, turn on when you get out of bed in the middle of the night, or can be activated via gesture controls. This effectively solves one of the biggest problems with Hue and other connected lighting systems – the fact that you’re forced to use your phone or tablet for the system to work properly.
And on top of all this awesome functionality, the device has an attractive, well-designed form factor that won’t look bad on your wall.
The Goldee Light Controller is currently up for pre-order via an independent crowdfunding campaign that launched earlier today. Pricing for early backers starts at just $249, with the general retail price expected to be somewhere around $349. Through a partnership with smart bulb manufacturer LIFX, the company is also offering kits that come with bulbs, so you can get a complete smart lighting set right out of the box.
Find out more at getgoldee.com
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