This article was 1st published on our sister Site, Digital World Native.
At the recently concluded CES 2019 held in Las Vegas, USA, a plethora of devices were showcased, but one which really stood out & seemed to enthrall the crowd endlessly was a simple block of wood. A closer inspection of the plank proved to be much more than its looks led people to believe. This bit of wood when touched, acts as a ‘smart device’ by connecting to the Internet, so as to provide details on the current weather, time, news & much more.
Originally launched as a KickStarter project by Mui Lab Inc, ‘mui’ has a LED display which can be touch-activated. It offers a classy interface for consumers to communicate via messaging, as well as control other ‘smart’ devices in the home, such as the lights, thermostat & the music center.
We spoke to mui via Facebook messaging to their co-founder Kazunori Oki’s words as to why the company has used a wooden plank for their device:
“Technology often feels cold & impersonal. Conventional devices require us to change our natural human behaviors to operate them. For example, smartphones make us hunch over & tap & swipe the glass screens. Operating mui, on the other hand, is similar to touching wooden furniture. Wood feels natural & the device uses your natural behaviors as prompts. It’s time we thought about how to do away with screens & devices that make us work for them, mui brings together wood, a natural material that feels warm, & cutting-edge technology.”
The idea is to create ‘calm technology’, which interacts naturally, & is not alien to human nature. At the moment, the only way to get your hands on mui is to pre-order from Indigoo, Kickstarter or to order on the Mui Lab Website. Interestingly, the device works as a result of an electronic panel, which is ‘sandwiched’ between the wooden plank & the wall that it is mounted on. Activation is achieved through touching the wood or issuing commands through Google Home or Alexa.
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