RoomMe sensors know who’s in a room to adjust it automatically

Imagine a home that’s smart enough to adjust the temperature, lighting, or music based on who’s in a room at any given time. That’s what a company called Intellithings is promising with its new RoomMe sensors, a former Indiegogo campaign that’s now shipping globally.

The big caveat here is that RoomMe works by pairing with a person’s smartphone, not their meat sack. So if members of your household are in the habit of coming home and setting their phone on a charging pad or leaving it in a bag on the kitchen table, then RoomMe is already defeated.

RoomMe is compatible with a variety of popular smartphone products including Sonos and Bose speakers; Hue and LIFX lighting; Ecocbee thermostats; HomeKit and Wink systems; and “hundreds” of ZigBee and Z-wave compatible devices, according to Intellithings.

A RoomMe home requires a minimum of two sensors, with one of the smoke-detector-sized pucks placed above the entrance to every room where you’d like personalized automation. To avoid conflicts, RoomMe adheres to a system of prioritization: Room Master, Parent, and Child. A Room Master is god, overriding even a parent when a child is defined as a master of their own bedroom, for example. If there are several people in a room all at the same level then the person who entered the room first is given priority.

RoomMe is an interesting take on the idea of personalized home automation; a dream for some, but “smart” overkill for many. It’s certainly less invasive than fitting a home with a series of always-watching and always-listening cameras and mics to otherwise identify inhabitants as they move from room to room.

A two-sensor RoomMe starter kit costs $129, or $239 for a pack of four. Additional sensors can be added at $69 a pop.