Device creates smart home remote controls out of thin air

Hayo creates a 3D scan of connected homes, enabling users to turn surfaces or zones into remote controls for connected devices.

We’ve seen facial recognition can be used to control smart homes, and now a new device turns motions into actions by creating multiple remote controls using just the surroundings.

Hayo creates a 3D scan of the rooms it’s used in via image capture and is able to sync up with most connected devices that are present. Using the associated app, users select the device they wish to operate and then highlight an area of the house they wish to use to control that device, whether that’s a certain spot on the living room table that can then turn on the TV with a tap, or even a midair space in the kitchen that, when waved through, activates the lights. Hayo also features an AI algorithm that processes context, adjusting lighting settings to time of day, for example, and learns to recognize passive actions to prevent accidental device interactions. Currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo, Hayo should be available late 2017 with the price currently set at USD 299 and will feature an open source API for third-party developers.

Could space-sensing devices make gesture controls prevalent in other contexts, such as in connected cars, reducing the need for steering wheels, brakes and other mechanisms?