Moving a light switch in your home is never an easy proposition, and certainly something that most home owners would not want to tackle on their own. However, the Avi-on Switch is a new product entering the home automation sector that puts the power in consumer’s hands to place a light switch wherever needed.
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The Avi-on switch utilizes an adhesive backing to be placed nearly anywhere in your home, allowing you to control your lights with ease across your home. The peel-and-stick backing creates an easy solution to placing a new switch at the bottom of the stairs or in a hallway, where it would otherwise prove to be costly.
Utilizing low-power Bluetooth technology, the Avi-on Switch takes a different approach than a number of the other home automation devices that we have seen on the market. The beauty of using Bluetooth is that it takes the need for a wireless network out of the equation, thus opening the potential user base of this product to a much wider range of consumers. Additionally, the low-power technology helps Avi-on promise a three-year battery life for this product.
In comparison, popular home automation systems such as the Belkin WeMo or Nest thermostat all but require a WiFi connection to truly enhance the user experience. While Belkin’s WeMo light switch offers many of the same conveniences, it’s traditional in-the-wall design still feels like a product from the past in comparison to Avi-on’s mobility.
The Phillips Hue operates on a completely different ideal than the Avi-on, requiring users to install a wireless bridge that manages all of the lighting components that you place in your home. While this does create a solid network for the devices to operate on, it does not offer the ease of install that Avi-on has designed. Avi-on will offer an iOS and Android app for scheduling light timers and on/off settings for lights while away from home, falling in line with most home automation systems that we have seen.
Avi-on utilizes a mesh network for their devices to communicate with each other, ensuring a strong signal through your home. This technology has been used previously by companies such as Sonos, allowing each individual speaker to forward the signal from one to the next. The beauty of this technology though lies in the strength it creates amongst your devices, instead of depending on a router to manage all of the traffic, only Avi-on devices are communicating with each other in this instance. Allowing them to not get bogged down by the data from other devices, such as your TV, iPads or laptops. If you would like to control your lights from anywhere via an internet connection, then an Avi-on Remote Access Bridge would be required.
To ensure easy access to affordable lighting products, the Avi-on Switch is compatible with GE products such as the Plug-In Smart Dimmer, Oudoor Smart Switch and In-wall Smart Dimmer. Additionally, they offer a Bluetooth Smart Bulb that bypasses any other required products and simply installs like most consumer light bulbs.
Avi-on is currently raising money for their product through the crowd-funding site Tilt. With 29 days remaining, Avi-on stands at roughly 37% of the required funds to begin selling their product. They offer a number of different backing options, ranging from $59 for one switch and dimmer, to a $5,000 DIY bundle with access to the Avi-on beta program with a targeted ship date of Spring 2015.
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