Seed Labs recently announced the development of the Silvair Control, a device that looks more like a mouse than a powerful smart home tool. With Bluetooth capabilities, the product can communicate with a smartphone or tablet to control Silvair-enabled home devices, such as lamps and blinds.
The button-like item does not require any wires or even a plug for power; the Silvair Control has a lithium coin battery that lasts up to eight years. Users tap or twist the button to turn on the lights or lower the blinds, depending on what device they have the control assigned to.
In terms of its design, the Silvair Control is sleek, white, and round. It’s small, so you can carry it with one hand and has a magnetic mount that lets users affix it to a metal surface if they don’t want to tote it around the house.
To tap into the potential of the device, Seed Labs has partnered with Soraa, which builds LED lamps from pure gallium nitride substrates. This technique reduces defects and enables the use of blue LEDs for more than just the message light on your phone. Nobel Prize-winner Shuji Nakamura founded the company, whose new wirelessly connected LED lamps will be compatible with Silvair Control when they debut.
Silvair Control is a part of Seed Labs’ Silvair Mesh, where software-defined sensors connect household appliances for seamless control. The “mouse for your house” is just one part of the company’s venture into the Internet of Things.
“Initially, Seed’s Silvair line of products are supporting manufacturers in the lighting, blinds, shades, locks, and garage doors categories, which have huge potential, but they will be adding additional products in the electronics and appliances space in the months to come,” according to a company spokesperson.
