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Personal trainer, assistant, DJ: A wearable that improves your tennis swing and dims the lights

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Dim the lights down low — and other routine home tasks — with the flick of your wrist.

Using simple, motion-controlled gestures, a new wearable is pushing the frontiers of home automation. With simple, air-touch gestures, HIRIS can power a slew of smart-home appliances, right from your wrist. The sleek, attractive, hexagonal-shaped digital gadget’s current capabilities include GoPro, Spotify, and Philips Hue light bulbs. Compatibility will soon extend to Nest Thermostat and IFTTT. They’ve recently partnered with home-automation start-up Apio to make its smart-home capabilities, including locking doors and turning on and off appliances, even more robust.

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The modular HIRIS Core unit ($164 for early bird backers) works with an array of wristbands and bracelets in casual or sporty designs. Now available in silver and grey, more color options will be available down the road.

Using splash-proof or adhesive mounts, the optional HIRIS Tracker units ($94 each) work independently or together and can also be affixed to body parts such as ankles and knees, allowing you to intelligently synch and stream data to the Core or your PC or smartphone in real-time. Count calories, tally squats and crunches, and capture your shot speed on the tennis court or your total distance while ripping down the slopes on your snowboard.

HIRIS has its own free, downloadable mobile app and is compatible with iOS, Android, and Windows devices. A Web interface is also available for PC users. Juice up with the included wireless charger pad.

Since launching their crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo in January of this year, the founders of start-up firm Circle Garage in Genoa, Italy have raised over $45,000 of their $80,000 goal, setting the stage for pre-production this March, early-bird, worldwide shipments in September, and the launch of an online store.

Envision uninterrupted chopping and sautéing, while reading your next recipe steps with a hand wave towards your touchscreen, or remotely feeding the dog without leaving the sofa. With input from a robust and passionate community of developers, the boundless array of HIRIS apps and functionality is expected to grow.

Erika Prafder
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Erika Prafder is Digital Trends’ Home contributor. She is a veteran writer, with over fifteen years of experience covering…
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