Japanese team mui Lab has designed a wooden control panel, which aims to bring smart home technology into traditionally built houses harmoniously, and to inject a warm feel into modern living.
The wooden control panel, mui, works like a touchscreen. With a finger swipe, users can activate the device and control connected devices at home from the digital display. When done with control actions, the device goes back to the sleep mode and looks just like a sanded wood plank.
“In accordance with calm design principles, mui aims to minimize the ‘noise’ of technology and create a calm and peaceful environment for you to live in while providing just the right kind of convenience catered to your needs,” mui Lab says in its Kickstarter campaign.
Just like a smart hub with a screen, mui can display general information like time, message, timer and weather, as well as information about connected devices at home, including light dimmer, thermostat, music from smart speakers and schedules from Google Calendar.
Mui works with several smart home platforms, including IFTTT, Amazon Echo and Google Home. According to the company, the device has native support for Facebook, Twitter, Slack, Uber, Ring, Domino’s Pizza, Sonos and Philips Hue. Users can use the companion iOS or Android app for setting and connection with other devices.
Developers who want to create unique interfaces for mui can utilize the HAT for Raspberry Pi and SDK for Android provided by the company.
Mui is said to support English and Japanese at launch. Mui control panel has a US$999 retail price and is planned to start shipping in September, 2019. The company has launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.