The home automation space is filled with products that promise both straightforward setup and ease of use, using the smartphone as the brains behind it all. Some achieve this feat, but require accessories all over the place for the system to work. And if does work, many products wrongly assume the smartphone is the best piece of technology for total control — having to wait for an app to open just to turn on a bulb is inefficient to say the least.
Fantem thinks a smart home should be much easier to set-up, and its Oomi smart home system is the result of that. The system is primarily made up of an Oomi Cube and Oomi Touch. The former is the star of the show, a Wi-Fi and Z-Wave enabled device filled to the brim with all kinds sensors, cameras, and a motion detector all to learn the rhythms of a user’s daily life and react to anything unexpected. The latter is a 7-inch, edge-to-edge glass tablet with physical buttons that makes setting up any part of the connected home as easy as a tap and a touch.
The primary parts of the Oomi system don’t operate by themselves. A few accessories expand the capability of the system and truly make a home connected. A user can turn any outlet into a smart outlet with the Oomi Plug, while the Oomi Multi-Sensor adds the Oomi Cube’s wealth of sensors into any other part of the home. Ambiance is covered by the Oomi Bulb, while entertainment is handled by the Oomi Streamer. This accessory adds both browsing and streaming capabilities to any TV in the home, pushing home alerts to the screen alongside of them.
Finally, the Oomi Air can keep tabs on air quality in the home. The campaign’s $389 silver package offers backers the most bang for its buck with a Cube and Touch along with four extra accessories. The campaign is gunning for $50,000 in funding by May 21, 2015.
With a range of 100 meters and its impressive amount of versatility, the Oomi system can do a lot at a relatively affordable price point. However, even if Fantem boasts a minimum of parts required for this system to work, larger homes won’t have that luxury with just a single cube. There will undoubtedly be a limited range with regard to sensing light or humidity, something that changes room to room. Paigo offers similar functions that encompass the entire home, but is a little more complex when compared to Fantem’s improved version of the home.