If you’re like me you’re looking to make things a bit easier at home but at the same time make utility costs lower while not breaking the bank to do it.  Enter the Belkin WeMo into the home automation arena.  The WeMo Switch ($50) provides the ability to activate lights or any electronic device to turn on or off on a schedule it provides what we immediately expect from a simple device.  But the Belkin WeMo goes further.  It has the capability of motion sensing, WeMo Switch + Motion ($100), which will activate desired devices and lights as a family member enters a room and transitions through the others (with multiple WeMos).  Obviously this is most immediately applicable to lighting applications or even area fans to cool down a house but you could use it to kill off vampire power devices (the power plugs and other items that simply consume power when not in use yet plugged in).

If you don’t desire to place these items on a set schedule you can have full control over them via the iOS application which allows you to remotely turn WeMo’d devices on or off from your iPhone or iPad.  This network ability then provides some additional features with IFTTT (If This Then That).  This allows for notification via email when the motion sensing capability of WeMo is activated with something like a front door light or even the IFTTT Weather Channel interaction to determine sunset/sunrise and the activation of WeMo’d lights.

From this Cyber Fellows perspective this is an excellent step toward the internet of things.  What I’d like to see WeMo integrated with Belkin’s Conserve devices to provide power analytics.  This would then allow for an automation and control function on top of the power analytics (Air Conditioning just turned on when no one is home).  I’m surprised I didn’t see this at CES even though it was there; what I did notice is the numerous devices and companies that are getting into home device automation so Belkin will need to be innovative to stay ahead of the pack in this area.

[via Belkin]

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