
Crownstone, the smart power outlet that recognizes you and your devices - harianus
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dobots/crownstone/description
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harianus
From the description on Kickstarter: The Crownstone is a power outlet for both
the European and the American market, that uses Bluetooth Low-Energy to
establish your presence through your smartphone. Moreover, it recognizes
devices by very accurate current and voltage measurements.

The Crowstone is a multifunctional product that simultaneously brings you
comfort and reduces your energy bills.

There is no need to turn off every device or lamp when you are going for
groceries! The Crownstones are nice gadgets. However, they are more than just
nifty products, they are a first step to make your home aware of you and your
presence. The Crownstones become the eyes and ears of your home to optimally
cater to your needs.

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ludost
Getting towards a real "smart home": Adding anti-theft, child safety, energy
conservation, easy control and fun into every power outlet of your home!

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DanBC
How does this add child safety?

(Perhaps this is a cultural thing. I live in the UK which has _very_ safe
sockets already.)

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MrQuincle
You can define that a socket and thus a device cannot even be turned on when
you're not in its proximity. So, it won't even be possible for a child to use
the microwave when you're not present.

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alexdm0
Will we be able to make our own apps for this or is it limited to what you
guys are building?

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MrQuincle
This is Anne from DoBots.

It is definitely possible to create your own apps. We will make consumer apps
for everybody. But if you like to program yours, there is a BLE API available.

And different from most projects, even the firmware is open source! Check
[http://github.com/dobots/bluenet](http://github.com/dobots/bluenet). This
means you can really hack your power outlets.

~~~
alexdm0
Cool, I'll take a look!

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faridsim
Great that you guys added a US plug right from the start! And where will it be
produced, in the States?

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MrQuincle
It is a Dutch design from the famous school of Dutch design: straightforward,
beautiful, and useful at the same time.

We will ship from the US, so US backers have a big advantage right there.
Moreover, my wife is American so if this kicks off in the States, I have all
the reasons to start a spinoff in the US as well. :-)

