Amazing Ways to Automate Your Home and Life with Your SmartWatch

In recent years, one of the most significant advances in technology has been the advent of smartwatches. Products like the Apple Watch and Moto 360 are often advertised as fitness devices. But did you know that they can also be used to make your home more automated?

With the Do from This If That That (IFTTT) apps, you can control smart things like lights, thermostats, and motion detectors from your wrist.

What is IFTTT?

First introduced in 2011, free web service allows ordinary users to create chains of assertions called «recipes» that are triggered based on changes to other web services such as Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

What you need

You can add or create recipes using the IF by IFTTT app. However, here we are focusing on the DO button from the IFTTT app. as this is where smartwatch compatibility comes in. This application can be found in the App Store and through Google Play. Make sure your smartwatch is compatible with any of these stores.

do-house

For iOS users, the choice is, of course, the Apple Watch. For Android users, make sure your watch is compatible with Android Wear. These will be current generation watches, including the LG Watch Urbane, Moto 360, Huawei Watch, Fossil Q Founder and ASUS ZenWatch 2.

How to do it

For our discussion, we will focus on iOS and the Apple Watch. However, the steps presented here also work with Android Wear with some minor differences.

smart watch

To find a recipe, go to the DO app on your iPhone. Click on the recipe icon in the lower right corner of the screen. Under the text «My recipes» click the «+» button. This step opens the Add Recipe page, organized by collections, recommendations, and channels. You can also use the search icon to search for recipes more broadly.

Now it’s time to have some fun with our wrists.

Amazing things you can do with your smartwatch

Control your lights

There are already several DO recipes for Philips Hue users. These include: turning on/off the hue backlight, dimming the light, and flashing. To add them to your list of recipes, just click on them and follow the instructions. Each of these will require access to your Philips Hue account. You also need to specify the light sources controlled by the recipe. For example, all lights or just individual ones.

do-tint

Once the instructions are complete, the recipe becomes available in the DO app on your watch.

Want to create a new DO recipe? Find Philips Hue under Channels and then click Create New Prescription. Choose from nine actions, including Turn Light On, Change Color, and Change Random Color.

Other lighting applications are also available on the DO app, including LIFX and WeBo.

Send those tweets

One way or another, many of us believe that we should always be in contact with the outside world. Reddit, Tumblr and Twitter are just three of the services we use to connect with the world. No wonder we can perform social tasks by tapping the screen on our smartwatches.

do-tweet

With a DO application, we can perform many of these tasks, including:

Tweet your location
Send a tweet
Send a reminder to yourself via DM
Share a map of your location
Send new text message

Change temperature

Google Nest is one of the most popular smart thermostats on the market. It is also a popular choice for IFTTT users. In the DO app, you can automate many tasks, including «Set the Nest thermostat to…», «Turn on the fan for 15 minutes», and «Quickly set the thermostat to 70 degrees».

make-nest

Other smart thermostats that work with the DO app include ecobee, Honeywell, and IntesisHome.

Home Security for the 21st Century

Current generation webcams have become an important tool in home security. For just $100, you can install video monitoring that you can view from your laptop, smartphone, or tablet. Many of these systems are controlled through smartwatches, including Camio, Homeboy and Myfox Security.

Sample tasks you can try on your smartwatch:

Turn on your security system
sound the alarm
Shut down your system
Start recording for your cameras

MAKE LAUNDRY WITH YOUR WATCH

Before leaving for work, many people like to load and run their washer or dryer so that they have clean clothes when they return. Unfortunately, rushing to the door, they can sometimes forget to turn on the device. If you have a smart device such as those from GE and Samsung, you can follow these steps on your smartwatch.

make machines

For example, you can «End Wash Cycle», «Start Wash Cycle», «Pause Wash Cycle», and «Extend Wash Cycle».

Even better : With the Samsung Robotic Vacuum Cleaner, you can clean your home from anywhere in the world.

More to try

With Garageio, you can automate up to three garage doors in just a few easy steps for just $200. These tools allow you to control your doors from anywhere in the world.

make a garage