The latest in technology, wireless data and Smartphone integration means that more of your stuff is now talking to more of your stuff. You can buy an egg tray that tells you how many eggs remain in your fridge. Washing machines exist that can text you when they’ve finished cleaning your filthy socks. I own a crock-pot that I can switch on from my phone, even if I’m in Spain.
There are dog collars that send you an email if Rufus hasn’t had enough exercise for the day. Door locks that work based on the presence of your nearby Smartphone. Watches you can use to automatically tell your Facebook friends how many kilometres you’ve just jogged. Toilets that can tell if you’ve just had a bit of a barf, and email you a hangover cure (seriously).
The list goes on.
Does mankind really need any of this stuff? No, it doesn’t. But connected high-tech gadgets are the driving force behind a billion-dollar industry nonetheless. Why? Because they’re neat. And people like that. Especially geeks, like me.
IFTTT
Tapping into the latest connected-car and connected-home tech, and using a little networking via the powerful If This Then That (IFTTT) program, the so-called Internet of Things has become more and more popular for geeks that have a car and a garage. Just a few car and garage-related smart gadgets and some IFTTT recipes open an entire world of possibilities for neato feats of home and garage automation.
Here’s the setup. The IFTTT app (free download), communicates with connected devices, including the user’s Smartphone and hundreds of connected devices a user might have around their home. Using IFTTT, user-selected trigger and action signals are sent across the network in virtual real-time. Even just using IFTTT and your Smartphone, conditions can be set to, say, turn your ringer down and turn your mobile data off while you’re on your home Wi-Fi, or to turn your Bluetooth on when you’ve disconnected from it.
With IFTTT trigger-and-action recipes, your Smartphone, and some connected gadgets, some seriously handy and geeky things are possible. Here’s a look at few geeky garage, car, and home gadgets, and how they can be cleverly automated to do your bidding.
Garageio
A gadget geek can now use the power of the internet to control their garage door opener with ease. A Wi-Fi enabled black box is installed, so users can activate the garage door from anywhere. Up to three doors can be controlled with a single unit. Alerts can be provided if the door is opened, reminders can be sent if it’s left open, and users can check and control the status of their garage door from anywhere there’s an internet connection. Want to get a text whenever the door is opened or closed while you’re out of town? You can set up an IFTTT recipe in about 30 seconds to do it. You can even ditch the code-panel mounted outside of your garage, and use an IFTTT recipe to automatically open your garage door when your phone connects to your home Wi-Fi, presumably, as you roll up the driveway. If you like to leave your garage door open, you can set another rule to close it every night at a certain time. Certain security alarm systems can be integrated with Garageio, through IFTTT, as well.
Mojio
Mojio is one of several available OBD-connected modules that can plug into a car, enabling hundreds of uses. At its simplest, Mojio knows things like when your ignition is on or off, where your car is, and the charge state of your ride’s battery. Using IFTTT and Mojio, drivers can set recipes to automatically mute their cell-phone ringer and turn on Bluetooth when their engine starts, or to send an email when a diagnostic trouble code is detected. Other recipes can be created easily, sending the user a text whenever someone starts the vehicle’s engine, for instance. Tie in the functionality of Garageio to the mix, and recipes can be set to, say, close your garage door when you shut your engine off, or to open the garage door when your vehicle crosses a certain geo-fence, like an area of 50 feet around your house.
GPS, Tracking and Automation
If you’re into tracking of data, recipes can be created to automatically track your miles driven and fuel consumption in a Google spreadsheet, too. Using the GPS in your phone, one recipe can be used to log your daily driving, keeping a log of your routes and miles driven, in a constantly-updating spreadsheet that’s stored online in your Google Drive. Use an OBD-connected device, (like Mojio or Auto), and you can similarly track fuel consumption data. Using GPS and an IFTTT rule or two, you can even set your Smartphone to auto-text a loved one that you’re a given time or distance away from home. Work funny hours? Set a rule that turns on your WeMo coffee maker when you’re ten minutes away from home, or one that turns your Nest automated thermostat to AWAY mode when you start your car and leave.
WeMo
Available at various electronics retailers, WeMo is a line of Wi-Fi enabled switches and outlets (appliances, too) that can be turned on via your Smartphone, or by various IFTTT triggers. Got a block heater? Use a WEMO outlet and IFTTT rule to turn it on, only if the weather channel says it’s colder than 15 below, or at a specific time. Make another IFTTT recipe to turn on your indoor WeMo lights or garage lighting whenever your Garageio is opened. Another recipe can turn off all WeMo switches and outlets whenever your vehicle is more than a certain distance from your house, or when your phone drops off of your home Wi-Fi network. There’s a long-press functionality built into the switches too—letting users operate their garage door or WeMo connected block-heater by holding down a specific WeMo light switch in their house for three seconds.
The possibilities are growing by the day as new apps learn to speak to each other and devices and switches can be controlled automatically, so if you’ve ever wanted your house or car to behave like it can read your mind, that day has arrived.
