Skip to main content

New smart home controller Welle turns gestures into IoT commands

There’s a new entrant in the race to control your smart home devices. A Chinese company called Maxustech has made a pretty good impression in the Kickstarter world with the Welle — a new smart home controller that uses sonar to recognize gestures as commands. It feels a bit like using the Force to turn your stuff on and off, which is pretty cool by itself.

The developers claim the Welle is the first device of its kind to use embedded sonar to detect human motion for the control of smart devices and apps. It’s the same kind of tech that is used for high-level sensing in drones and currently being tested for self-driving cars by a variety of tech giants. Because it’s meant to be a universal controller, the Welle can be used to control a wide variety of devices including lights, televisions, speakers, door locks, thermostats, fans, and more.

Recommended Videos

More: Researchers add gesture recognition to nearly everything

Please enable Javascript to view this content

The early bird price on Kickstarter gets you one Welle for $69, and Maxustech has raised over $30,000 based on a $20,000 goal. The product will be in beta testing by May 2017 with production beginning in September. Maxustech expects to start shipping in October 2017.

Welle - Turn any surface into smart interface

In contrast to hands-free devices like the Echo and Google Home, Welle uses hand signals rather than voice commands to control smart home devices. It works by emitting low-level ultrasonic waves and collecting echoes that bounce back within its sensing areas. Then the device translates those echoes via software algorithms into commands for IoT devices, software applications, or other controllers. Because the device is designed to utilize the latest Bluetooth technology in concert with the latest sonar tech, it also consumes very little power.

The Welle will detect gestures out to about a meter, and recognizes at least a dozen simple gestures. In a nifty programming trick, the Welle developers integrated a function where a letter of the alphabet can be assigned to a unique device. In other words, just dash out an “X” in the air, and you can fire up the dishwasher or turn on certain lights. The developers are also using an open application program interface to encourage software and hardware to redefine gestures and invent new functionalities.

“Our goal was to create convenient control for people that could be used anywhere,” says CEO & Founder Mark Zeng. “Our team creates technology that adds pleasure to life by amplifying natural human ability. The feedback has been amazing.”

The development of the Welle could also be the cusp of a new age in IoT control. A recent study by Juniper Research forecasts that by 2020 there could be more than 400 million motion- and gesture-tracking devices. The technology could also have a fundamental connection to rising technologies like virtual reality.

Clayton Moore
Clayton Moore’s interest in technology is deeply rooted in the work of writers like Warren Ellis, Cory Doctorow and Neal…
These Linkind smart bulbs are 37% off, and have one of the best apps I’ve used
Linkind A19 E26 color smart bulbs matter support -- smart bulb deal

I know some people think that a lot of smart home tech is frivolous, and some of it is, I'll agree, but there are certain things that make daily life a little better. For example, I have security cameras, a video doorbell, smart lights, a smart garage door, and all of these things make living in my home convenient. With my lights, for example, I can create on-off schedules and I don't have to get up to use them. After a long day, that's a welcome feature, believe me. It's especially helpful with Christmas lights and decorative lights -- like the ones I have set up to automatically turn on at sunset on my patio.

With a smart video doorbell, I can answer my door, converse with parcel delivery teams, and shoo off solicitors -- we get a lot of them where I live. But among all of those experiences and devices, one of my biggest qualms is with the apps you use to interact with this tech.

Read more
This smart display alternative can now use AI to plan all your meals
The Skylight Cal Max installed on a wall.

Skylight is a smart home company that produces a variety of smart display alternatives, such as the Skylight Cal Max. These serve as a central hub for all your daily planning -- they’re primarily used as a digital calendar, but you can also use them to track chores, make lists, or meal prep. That last aspect just became much more exciting, as Skylight is officially introducing Sidekick, an AI-powered assistant that can plan all your meals in just a few minutes.

Sidekick is a new AI feature for Skylight devices. It’s capable of generating personalized recipes based on your budget, family size, and dietary restrictions, and it’ll even create a shopping list and load up step-by-step cooking instructions. Skylight hopes the new feature will save families 10 hours every month, as they’ll no longer need to worry about the logistics surrounding meal prep.

Read more
Get cleaner air for less with the Dyson Purifier Humidity+Cool for $200 off
The Dyson Purifier Humidity+Cool on a white background.

It’s easy to not think about the air around you. After all, it’s invisible, right? But good air quality makes a huge difference to your quality of life. Right now, you can buy the Dyson Purifier Humidity+Cool for $200 off at Walmart. Normally costing $1,000, it’s down to $800 today and it’s ideal for keeping your living space cool, as well as providing purified air. Here’s all you need to know.

Why you should buy the Dyson Purifier Humidity+Cool
Responsible for some of the best humidifiers out there, Dyson knows how to provide everything you want. With the Dyson Purifier Humidity+Cool, it automatically senses, captures, and traps pollutants so you gain cleaner air with no hassle or requirement to do a thing. It’s able to detect and destroy formaldehyde as well as many other pollutants so you’re in safe hands.

Read more