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Fin Lets You Control Your Smart Home With the Wave of a Hand

The prototype device may help unify connected devices in the smart home.

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What if, instead of relying on a bunch of different gadgets to power your car, phone, and home appliances, you could remotely operate these different devices through a series of hand gestures?

That’s the vision put forth by the developers of Fin—a thumb ring device with embedded sensors that detects movement over the palm and translates those movements into commands for connected devices. Up to three gadgets can be synced at one time, including cars, mobile devices, and home automation units.

Put simply, Fin could allow users to change the volume on their TV, turn on the oven, or remotely snap photos with a simple finger gesture—say, swiping your thumb across your index finger. A more game-changing possibility of the technology is hands-free operation of mobile devices, which could have a profound impact on driving habits. Imagine being able to answer a call without even taking your hands off the wheel.

The technology relies on Bluetooth 4.0 to communicate with connected devices, similar to the technology used for all sorts of wireless devices already. This means that Fin would be compatible with any device that already has Bluetooth built in, such as your smartphone.

Fin may be the all-encompassing UI needed to bring home automation to the masses.

With a reported one-month battery life, Fin may be the all-encompassing UI needed to bring home automation to the masses. As more and more gadgets and home appliances go “smart,” the need for a seamless, low-cost controller is becoming more and more apparent. Currently, the smartphone is seen as the tool for the job, but the complicated web of proprietary apps that control individual gadgets is just a headache to most consumers.

According to Rohildev N.—founder and CEO of RHLvision, which makes Fin—there is no other device that allows users to control several devices at a time.

"Other wearable devices are using touchless gesture interaction," Rohildev told Reviewed.com in an email, "but Fin is the only device which brings gesture control in the palm itself, making it more closer to the user."

The downside? Fin is still very much in the development stage. The above video merely depicts how designers imagine the final product will look and operate. However, the inclusion of a software development kit—not to mention, iOS/Android/Windows compatibility—opens the door to a wealth of third-party possibilities.

Fin is currently raising funds for its final product design through Indiegogo. The company hopes to retail the product for $120 when it’s released this September. As of this writing, Fin had raised $18,264 of its $100,000 goal with 20 days to go.

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