This article was 1st published on our sister Site, Digital World Native.
This is a button can be programmed to do a bunch of different stuff when pressed. It instantly connects via the Internet to bttn’s Cloud servers. Using a simple wizard interface, you can program it to so that when a child presses the bttn device as he gets home, you will get an SMS text, or when an operator hits the button in a warehouse, his boss gets a notification to send a truck to pick up merchandise. Yes, that’s right, the possibilities are endless.
If you’re familiar with Internet automation services like the popular IFTT, which triggers services to execute actions by creating connections based on the statement: if this then that, then bttn may be looked at as a logical next step. In fact, bttn makes it easy for non-Internet savvy users to execute IFFT-like recipes by pushing a physical button.
What’s actually happening is that every time someone presses the button, a particular action is triggered by communication with the bttn Cloud via mobile data, SMS or Wi Fi to execute pre-set commands, which you can program in a wizard interface on a browser.
When the button is pressed, the user sees 1 of 3 possible LED color changes on the button surface: green, yellow or red, denoting a successful execution, wait, or error, respectively. These colors can also be used to cue a user to take a particular action, & even to trigger an alarm or some other action if the potential button pusher doesn’t do anything, for example when an elderly person has not pushed the button after taking a medicine.
The Finnish startup behind the device has been very successful at obtaining venture backing, including a very successful crowdfunding campaign. It’s been around since 2013 & has recently launched the production version of the device. It’s available on the bttn site, & it comes in separate, ‘business’, ‘techies’ & ‘home packages’. There’s a standard bttn button, which is pretty big, at a diameter of 100 mm & a height of 73 mm, which powers on 4 AA batteries, or via a USB port, selling for US $79. A new bttn Mini was just announced, which slims the bttn down to 69X40 mm & come with a small Li-Po battery with a USB charging port, which sells for $79. Custom branded versions are also available for the same prices.
