The Atmel-powered m!Qbe is an intuitive, interactive platform that allows users to easily control multiple lights. The system comprises a number of components, including the m!Qbe (central) module, m!base, m!charger and WiFi.
The m!Qbe is designed to be used in one room with an m!Base and should, depending on the layout, cover a circle with a diameter of 20 meters.
“Just flip it and switch to the suitable lighting situation for your current activity such as low yellowish light to relax on the couch, bright white light to read the newspaper or different colors for your birthday party,” an m!Qbe rep explained in a recent Indiegogo post.
“Use it in everyday life with many more possibilities than a traditional light switch and much faster than manual control on a mobile device.”
Indeed, the m!Qbe’s three faces, or sides, are designed to “memorize” specific settings.
“You predefine them once and recall them whenever you like,” said the rep.
“In addition, you can add a delay on every favorite. So you can go to bed or leave your home in bright light for instance. The m!Qbe [will] automatically turn off all your [lights] after a while.”
As you can see in the video above, the m!Qbe can be rotated to manually change color or brightness, while a brief touch on the icon switches from one light to another, allowing the user to easily select and adjust specific fixtures.
So, how does the platform work? Essentially, the m!Base component communicates with the m!Qbe and the network of lights.
“It converts the detected motion into lighting situations and provides access to the settings of the m!Qbe,” the rep continued.
“The installation of the m!Base is a plug and play solution. In its standard configuration you connect the m!Base with a cable to your network. If you want to connect it wirelessly, please order the WiFi option.”
As noted above, the m!Qbe is built around an Atmel 8-bit microcontroller (MCU), which uses data generated from a three-axis acceleration sensor and a three-axis gyro sensor to precisely calculate motion.
“Additionally on each of the two manual faces, a capacitive touch sensor is integrated and allows to detect touch actions of different lengths. In the m!Base a Linux system transfers the commands received via bluetooth from the m!Qbe to commands for every single lamp in the network,” the rep added.
“For the configuration of this transfer and to read out statistical information a web interface is implemented. If you want to extend the functions of the m!Qbe the easiest way is to modify the software of the m!Base.”
Last, but certainly not least, m!Qbe supports the Philips Hue system that includes not only the connected bulbs but also Friends of Hue such as LightStrips and LivingColors Bloom, along with dimming plugs for more traditional lamps.
Interested in learning more? You can check out the official m!Qbe page on Indiegogo here.
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