Today, smart technology has taken over our lives – as we literally are surrounded by smart gadgets in our homes, offices, and even in public places. While some people are still not sure about relying completely on the Internet of Things (IoT), there are many for whom responsiveness and interactivity are important. If you’re among the latter, you surely won’t see any potential in older devices. But IoTIZER is about to change that perception.
Curated to replace human manipulation of old products, IoTIZER is a prototype mechanical hijacking device (MHD). As the name indicates, it is meant to be operated by humans while giving new connected life to your old devices. This device can handle almost everything with an interface, which is pulled, pushed, or twisted.
Influenced by a 2D plotter that can rotate and extend, along with extra freedom to push buttons. This small stick-on adapter is meant for some additional motions, such as rotating knobs. It comes integrated with software to make MHD easily accessible for people without getting into technical stuff.
A prototype project from Korea
IoTIZER is basically a research-through-design project by KAIST in Korea. This project is involved in putting some of these prototypes in the lives of potential users. As per the researchers, this prototype is created after many trials and many participants liked that this device is customizable in terms of sequences, operating times, and conditions. Hence, it adds functionality to gadgets that already had a certain level of connectivity.
As of right now, IoTIZER is a research-through-design project from KAIST in Korea. Part of the project involved putting some prototypes in the homes of potential users. According to the researchers, a number of the initial trial’s 14 participants liked the fact that the MHD was so customizable in terms of operating times, sequences, and conditions—adding functionality even to devices that already had some level of connectivity.
IoTIZER features
This IoT device uses stepper motors to get precision movement. All these motors are further controlled by the Arduino Uno. For making this device easy-to-control remotely, it includes a WiFi-integrated Adafruit Feather HUZZAH along with an ESP8266 microcontroller.
The software used in the devices helps in its easy configuration. It further includes a smartphone app, on-device software, and a server. The app accepts user instructions that are sent to the server and further communicates with the device for triggering requested actions.
Future of IoTIZER
IoTIZER seems to be a very promising device to extend the lives of old or aging devices that you already own. Unfortunately, the design of this device is quite large that most people won’t like to have it in their homes. But this issue can be resolved to a certain degree by downsizing the electronics and reworking the device’s structure. But that won’t address all the concerns.
According to the team, the future version of this device may be in the form of a personal service robot. It will help in navigating multiple devices, as well as manipulating them manually. It sounds like a great idea. But more work needs to be done on this device to make it practical. And, it may take some more years to do so.
