The advent of the smart home is happening behind an almost glacially slow encroachment. You get a smart bulb here, maybe a smart thermostat there, then your new TV comes with some smart features built right in.
We all have visions of our fully integrated smart home of the future operating something like JARVIS from the Marvel movies. The reality is a lot less glamorous. In fact, today's smart home is often a complete mish-mash of varying technologies with conflicting interfaces that don't always work like the well-oiled machine we'd hoped.
The Knocki is a surprisingly simple, yet slyly advanced method of getting your entire home smart system in line and working just the way you want it to work. And, it all happens when you perform the easiest of motions. You just knock.
Created with $1.3 million in funding from backers on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, the Knocki itself almost looks like an Echo Dot, but it's closest tech analogy might actually be the much beloved relic of the '80s and '90s, The Clapper.
Once the Knocki is mounted on a surface, connected to your home WiFi network, and synced to the Knocki app, you're set. Just like The Clapper would turn lights off or on with a clap of the hands, the Knocki only requires you rapping your knuckles on a table, door, wall, or any hard surface to activate smart devices around your home.
With a knock, you can get the Knocki to adjust your home temperature or kick your favorite streaming speaker to life to listen to music. Working in conjunction with the app, the Knocki can also send alerts to your smartphone when a knock is heard, like if a delivery guy delivers an Amazon package.
While that all sounds simple, the Knocki is actually amazingly resourceful, with the ability for you to program in sequences so your various knocks can trigger all kinds of easy or even multi-step smart home tasks.
For example, a short three-knock sequence when you wake up in the morning might be the signal for your WiFi-connected coffee maker to start brewing you a new pot. If you lose your phone often, a short four-knock pattern might trigger your phone to ring and lead you to it. Or maybe a seven knock sequence to the tune of The Weeknd's song Blinding Lights will automatically order your favorite chow mein order from the Chinese place down the street. The functions of the Knocki are basically only limited by your imagination.
The Knocki is usually priced at $99, but when you use the Valentine's Day sale code VDAY2021, you save another 15% off the already discounted price. That will get a Knocki in your home for only $59.49 with this limited-time offer.
Prices subject to change.
