In the works since 2013, Oomi is now ready to reveal itself to the world as it launches at CES and on Indiegogo a few hours ago.
Oomi is based around Z-Wave mesh networking, giving it access to over 1,200 smart home devices out of the box. Made up of both custom software and hardware, the makers say they are particularly focussed on three areas of the home – its security, its home theatre and its ambiance.
The Oomi Cube runs the learning Oomi IQ intelligence engine that’s the heart of the system. The Cube also houses an IP camera (with night vision), motion / audio security sensors and a 360° IR blaster for home cinema and climate control.
Oomi IQ learns in a similar way to Nest, looking for user input and patterns. It then turns these into an intelligent automation schedule, requesting a home owner’s permission before actually implementing it. But Oomi is much smarter. Oomi IQ uses a broader set of data points than its more limited learning cousins. It needs to; it’s managing a whole home, and not a single heating or cooling point. These data points include feedback from sensors connected directly to Oomi, and third-party data sources such as weather, air quality and traffic APIs.
The Tap-and-Touch is a tablet dedicated to the setup and control of Oomi. The unit features a 7.1 inch IPS screen with a 1280 x 800 resolution. Using a heavily modified version of Android 4.4 it allows the user to add most Oomi accessories to their system in less than a minute and its custom apps add gesture control too.
We asked the Oomi team if the tech was based around RFID and the told us…
Tap-and-Touch is a blend of RFID and software that we’ve developed. We’ve used the blend to achieve Oomi’s usability advantages, and the RFID connection for setup, reconfiguration and tutorial purposes (though the latter two can also be accessed via the various apps we’ve built for Oomi as well).
The third hardware component is the Oomi Band, a dedicated controller for Oomi IQ with the addition of sleep and exercise monitoring functions. Oomi promise future support for the Apple Watch (and HomeKit) as well as Android Wear too.
A further four Oomi hardware modules are coming too. The Oomi Streamer is a Google Chromecast like HDMI dongle digital media player that will enable Oomi to offer multi-room HD video and audio content streaming and control.
You can automate your appliances whilst monitoring their energy consumption in real time with the little Z-Wave wirelessly controlled Oomi Plug module. The Oomi Air mounts on the back of Oomi Cube and measures temperature, humidity and particulates while Oomi Bulb will offer 16 million colours for alternative lighting control.
Oomi say their system is aimed at users in Australia, China, Europe, the U.K. and the U.S.A. Their starter kit containing the Oomi Cube gateway, Oomi Plug and Tap-and-Touch tablet is expected to retail for $449 and be available in the first half of this year. Checkout the links below to learn more, back the project or snap up a discounted starter kit on Indiegogo.
oomihome.com : Oomi on Indiegogo
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Looks like a well thought out and interesting system that might go a long way.