You Can Have Your Own Personal IoT With MESH

IoT is a buzzword that you can't really escape from in the present day.

If you've heard the word, but still aren't sure what IoT means here's a short definition from the MESH website:

"IoT is an abbreviation for the 'Internet of Things'. The idea behind it is that by having a sensor pick up information from something and connect it to the Internet, not only will it allow you to exchange information between things and humans, but also between the things themselves."

All of us wonder when our world will be fitted with smart objects, roads, buildings, and cities. It's not a matter of if, but when. Well, now you can get a taste of our future world with a new IoT system called MESH. It's incredibly user-friendly and easy to figure out. Even elementary kids can learn how to use it.

Here's the basics of how MESH works:

You install the MESH app on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and then add functionality to the MESH objects (wireless functional devices named 'Tags') within the app. After these attributes have been added, then you connect the two virtual Tags together inside the app. The real MESH Tags are then connected together when you hear the ping sound. Below are some of the available Tags you can get:

[Image Source: MESH]

You can use MESH for a variety of things and the possibilities are pretty endless. You can add a tag to a MESH object to take a photo with your camera when someone opens a door. You can push a button on one MESH object which will turn on lights. You can attach an object to a trash can so that each time someone lifts it, the MESH object says, "Thank you." If you're really creative, you can add the motion tag to an object and have that motion be the driving force behind a hand-made robot which makes art. Watch the video below, which shows this very creative and ingenious use of MESH. It involves a man jumping and shimmying to his own beat. This motion is picked up by the MESH objects which send the signals to a hand-made robot which draws the motion. You just have to see it to grasp the concept:

I think the best part of this MESH system is the fact that it's available now and is not too expensive. When I first discovered this personal IoT MESH system, I figured it would be in the Kickstarter stage. It is not. The starter kit that includes 3 MESH wireless functional devices is now available in Amazon for $134. Interestingly, MESH is the very first product to be launched from Sony's new business incubation program. The MESH website comes in two language flavors: English and Japanese, and is incredibly well-designed and intuitive.

If you decide to try out MESH, make sure and add your voice to either our Facebook Page or website comments and let us know what you created.

[Image Source: MESH blog]

Leah Stephens writes under the pseudonym, Stellabelle. She is an artist/researcher who writes books and you can connect with her here. 

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