What has six sides, three key features, and is the secret to a better home? That might just be the Beacon, a new “multi-sensory cube” that claims to help you improve your environment with its powerful sensors, bio-rhythmic lighting, and connected speakers. It’s the latest product to come out of London-based company Living Labs and combines sleek design with serious functionality.
Though it boasts a whole slew of impressive smart home features, the Beacon is a relatively small, unobtrusive appliance. Measuring just 6.5-by-6.5-by-4 inches, the Beacon seems capable of blending in seamlessly with just about any decor. But just because you might not notice it doesn’t mean you won’t notice its effects.
The Beacon features bio-rhythmic lighting capable of adjusting its intensity and mimicking sunlight at various stages of the day, matching your circadian rhythm and helping you feel more awake or more drowsy as needed. It also comes with 2 x 4-watt speakers that have a frequency range of 20 to 20,000 Hz, which means that you can either have a party or lull yourself to sleep with just whispers of sound.
But perhaps most important are Beacon’s environmental sensors, capable of monitoring temperature, humidity, and pollutant gasses like ammonia, sulfur, benzene, ozone, smoke, and more. It also alerts you to your air quality by way of the companion mobile app. After all, you can’t begin to improve your surroundings until you know what is wrong with them.
“In cities around the world, air pollution and its risk to our health is an increasing worry,” said Living Labs director, Kingsley Hull. “The EU commission recently issued a final warning to the U.K. and four other countries about their air quality levels, yet progress is slow. Beacon is our way of helping users seize control over their environment and improving their quality of life.”
You can pre-order a Beacon now for about $193, with an expected delivery date of March 2018.