There is a massive movement towards context. Robert Scoble – Rackspace’s Startup Liaison Officer – just wrote a book about the concept. In The Age of Context, Scoble and co-author Shel Israel outline this new age, “In this new era, our devices know when to wake us up early because it snowed last night; they contact the people we are supposed to meet with to warn them we’re running late. They even find content worth watching on television. They also promise to cure cancer and make it harder for terrorists to do their damage.”1 Essentially, then, things – all things, apps, hardware, software, everything – will become smarter and more contextually aware. This contextual movement leads to a whole host of awesome new products, and new ways to interact with products. We just came across an interesting Indiegogo Campaign that looks to capitalize on context.
This is the Signul.The Singul is a personal, location based beacon. The benefit proposition is pretty simple: “Have you ever done something on your phone only to wish that it happened automatically? This is exactly what Signul was created to do. It automates your life based on micro location.”2 So, essentially, the Signul is a sort-of physical, location based IFTTT. Here are a few examples of the way the creators see people using the beacon:
- Lockitron is ready to unlock your door when you arrive home. Launch your favourite access and home automation Apps as you approach your door!
- Spotify starts when you get into your car. Don’t drive, no problem. It’ll be ready when you walk out of your house!
- Send your friends a message to say you’re leaving work.
- Make sure you never leave home without your bag. Or, put one in a bag and know when it arrives!
- Challenge your friends to a fitness contest and tweet them updates/taunts every time you hit the gym! They’ll love you for it 🙂3
The Signul Beacon is powered by an easy to use app:
You can pre-order a Signul beacon for $90 on the Indiegogo Campaign. Here is a quick look at the beacon, and what it can do:
