Hackey could make controlling your smart home as simple as turning a key

(By Masaru Ikeda, The Bridge) – Tokyo-based Cerevo, the Japanese startup behind a variety of smart consumer electronics devices, unveiled a smart key switch called Hackey on Wednesday. The product is available for 9,980 yen (about $82) on their website. In conjunction with the announcement, the company just started a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogowhere backers can pre-order it for $59 plus shipping charge.

Hackey is a Wi-Fi-connected, palm-sized “key” switch. It is compatible with IFTTT and allows users to control various internet services via API by turning the key. Some examples of possible use cases include:

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• Allowing children to tell their parents working at office via Twitter message when these children return home by letting them turn the key
• Controlling home security system by turning the key
• Allowing users to hail a cab by turning the key
• Allowing office employees to record the time on their company’s time clock card system when they start work or leave the office

In addition to allowing trigger signal transmissions to IFTTT Maker Channel, Hackey can also receive requests from other web services so Hackey’s side LED indicators will flash in accordance with a user’s settings. The product will be also compatible with myThings, Yahoo Japan’s mobile app enabling users to integrate various web services with IoT (Internet of Things) products.