The Consumer Electronics Show 2014 being held in Las Vegas has introduced to the world, a new semi-maternal figure, called the Mother. This motion-sensing device promises to be the mother of the Internet of Things. The tagline, “Mother knows everything”, says a lot about the functionality of the Mother doll. The Mother doll boasts of a touch-sensitive face that can be programmed to pester you.
How Does The New Mother Doll Do It?
To do so, it connects to your network via wifi and collects relevant informationusing sensors known as cookies. It also has a little wireless motion along with temperature sensors. It then sends alerts depending on the conditions set by the user. The alerts can be anything from push notifications, texts, and email to phone calls or just light coming from the base. The idea behind making the device is to connect cookies to any object and the mother keeps track of habits and notifies of any changes.
Some Tidbits Those Aren’t Alien to App Developers
A cookie is a small tag that is capable of sensing motion and changes in ambient temperature. This data is then sent to the Mother base using a 915 MHz radio. The mother base supports up to 24 cookies that can be reprogrammed at any time according to the user’s requirements. All the cookies need to be in range of the Mother base to send data. However, if a cookie is out of range, it can remember up to 10 days worth of data, which can then be transferred to the mother once it’s back in range.
The actual purpose of the Mother is a little strange but that what it is made for. It can be employed in a wide range of scenarios. A cookie can be attached to the water bottle and you can ask the mother to nag you if it doesn’t detect the motion of drinking adequate water. Similarly, a cookie can be attached to the lid of the cookie jar to track the number of times you have had a cookie in a day. The company gives 4 cookies along with the Mother base. Additional cookies can be purchased for $99 for a pack of four.
What’s In It for App Developers?
Think about innovative designs and think about the possibilities. With Internet of Things becoming a reality, there is a lot people can do with their mobile apps. You do not just need to look at designing a great app, there is a lot more you can do with innovative ideas like this. While arguably one might criticize the Mother Doll as being too pesky (as some mothers tend to be), there is a lot of potential it presents for app entrepreneurs and app developers.
This device can be considered to be the new form of connected life where people will be able to interact with common objects. App entrepreneurs should target this domain and develop applications for smartphones and tablet computers that compliment such hardware.
