Automate Your Entire Home With This 2.5” Gadget (Yes, We Live In The Future)

Posted In: Tech | Posted By: Brit

I know I’ve worked in tech and have had the opportunity to see a lot of cool things, but I still have to pinch myself when I see stuff like this. Twine, a Kickstarter project (that, unsurprisingly, blew past its fundraising goal in a matter of days), is a 2.5” square with different sensors used to connect objects in your home to the Internet. For example, what if you could get a text message every time your back door opened? Or, what if you could get a tweet whenever your laundry was done? Or, an email when the temperature in your house rose above 75-degrees? You can do all of that with Twine.

Their explanation is a bit verbose and difficult to understand, so I’ll break it down for you. The Twine square is powered either by USB or batteries, and comes with both temperature and vibration sensors. You can also buy other sensors (ex: moisture sensor) to use as well. Twine connects to your home Wifi wirelessly. Once connected, you can use a web app to set rules for what you want your Twine to tell you about. It can text, tweet, or email to talk to you. And you can have it do whatever you want - no difficult programming required, only a couple of dropdown options to select from online.

It kind of reminds me of ifttt, a site that will tweet/Facebook/etc whenever something happens to you online, but it’s made for the analog world. The possibilities for it are endless. I’m thinking of using one as a dog monitor, so that I know whenever brushes up against the front door (which he does only when he needs to go outside). I ordered three, so I’m sure I’ll find creative uses for the others as well.

The project will close on January 3rd, so if you want to be an early adopter, you should pick one up while you can. For those of you not familiar with Kickstarter, there are different funding options you can select from, each with their own perks. Given the popularity already, I don’t doubt that this company will be successful. Here’s to a more automated and digital home.