I could see this being a useful tool when trying to form good habits. Brush teeth? push the button. Get a fresh glass of water from the fridge? push the button.
When analyzing other aspects of my life such as spending, I have tools to show me what I've done in the past, and those tools can help me improve (e.g. spending reports). This is admittedly reactionary, but I find it useful nonetheless. Track enough other "stuff about stuff", and I think the data could become interesting over time, providing similar "hindsight" that in turn can be used to improve oneself.
Of course, this means it will be necessary to have button things all over the place...
That's exactly what I plan on using mine for. It makes logging actions so much faster. I would love to just have a smartwatch with a set of about 12 or so buttons that correspond to a specific action, but that will take time to happen, if at all.
If you don't mind pulling your phone out, IFTTT launched a new app called Do that just lets you push a button to "do" something on one of their channels. They have pre-made recipes for putting the current time into Google Spreadsheets etc. https://ifttt.com/recipes/227069-track-your-work-hours
I think IFTTT is working on a Pebble app as well, but it hasn't launched.
A Pebble with Tasker could get you there (HTTP POST) or one of the integrations. Even IFTTT or DO. You could probably also even go with the Magic Form app described in the OP's article.
Making it context aware is possible too (e.g. in the bathroom or at work) with some thinking of Wifi routers or if you wanted NFC tags, iBeacons.
Just a note, Misfit Flash now allows you to program button presses (single or double) to IFTTT, and from there you can go anywhere: https://ifttt.com/misfit
It's also fairly cheap at $19 (though not as cheap as these Amazon buttons, of course).
Check out Nuimo[1]. It's a small programmable device featuring a simple LED matrix style display while supporting multiple types of interactions. I could even see this in use at factories for ordering supplies for a specific machine or calling service technicians to it.
Are there any other cheap wifi buttons without the bootup delay? Looking for something to talk to my raspberry py to turn off/on lights or switch spotify songs, would be annoying to have to wait for it.
Keeping track and sticking buttons all over the place is going to be an "early adopter" feature. Once we get to an overwhelming number of "buttons" it will make sense just to put up a couple cameras similar to the Microsoft Kinect and use hot zone + gestures to do the same thing. RFID in boxed products might help out but the buttons will end up being a mess right quick.
It is cheaper to put microphone and ask for food, similar to regular shop: "Hey, Amazon", "Order, please", "Bottle of milk and bread", "Bottle of milk «Foo» $2,50. Bread «Bar» $1,75. Total: $4,25. Confirm?", "Yes", "Order accepted, wait for delivery.". Something like Siri, but activated by push of hardware button on the fridge.
Interestingly enough, when I signed up for Amazon Fresh, I got a version of the Dash that is multipurpose. Instead of having buttons everywhere, mine has a barcode scanner, and voice recognition. When I am out of eggs, I just pick it up, push the "Mic" button, say "Eggs," and it appears on my "Dash" list when I log in to Amazon Fresh.
This is a different solution, and less manual - but OralB has a bluetooth enabled toothbrush that will auto-record your tooth brushing in their app (as well as metrics like 'time used too much pressure' and 'total brush time'). You need to manually record flossing and tongue brushing via the app though (using a button on your smartphone like others have described). It's not bad, it's not good, but it's a start.
> Just follow this list of instructions, but don’t complete the final step — don’t select the particular product you want ordered.
Overall I think this is great. I can see this being useful for a variety of different tracking; not only for infants. I'd probably go a step further and using my router I'd block the Wifi Button from having access to the web. I can just imagine the feeling of having many unexpected packages showing up at my door.
This is really cool. I suspect the buttons are already sold at loss, so it is probably very hard to build a similar, but more open, device at around a price point where you could just plaster the whole house with such buttons.
But I wonder if it might be done when leaving out the WiFi and most of the processing power from the button, and having essentially what is a RF remote control (like used for remote controlled outlet switches) with a receiving station. The receiver would be the "expensive" part, the gateway to Wifi/Internet and contain all the logic that links a button press to something usefull like a HTTP request.
can be had for 30 bucks including shipping, so based on that I could see it done.
Edit: obviously the behavior of such a button would have to be much better than a typical cheap remote control regarding reliably registering and then transmitting each and every button press, so the comparison is of course very limited
The wifi and a tiny microcontroller are available for around $5 in single units these days - google "esp8266" - I'm only _marginally_ surprised Amazon can ship these for $5, but I bet they aren't making much (if any) loss on these at their volumes.
If $5 was near their costs, wouldn't they then sell it for 2$ or something, because Amazon (and their brand partner) make money with the button later?
I bet the $5 price point is something they arrived at mostly by asking what customers are _willing_ to pay.
That whole concept is so new they would not hinder it's success by making the button $10 or anything near the true cost. Amazon is all about investing in growth, and this is very likely an investment. Maybe not even that much in additional sales, but in mindshare for a totally new and unique shopping experience.
All of that does not work for an open "does anything you want"-button, so anybody designing and selling such a thing would have to think very very different about the hardware cost.
I was wondering the Button was configured for WiFi access. It's more interesting than I though. It's configured by running a Dash Button app on your Android or Apple smart phone.
The Android version works about as I would have guessed, by using the Dash Button as an access point, and the app helps you connect to it. But the Apple version communicates with the phone by ultrasonic tones!
Does this remind anybody of the CueCat? Same story...subsidized hardware that hackers repurposed for other uses. I think the makers of CueCat tried to unsuccessfully sue the hackers:
Well CueCat was "free" (Although mostly forced on you). Amazon dash is a regular paid product on Amazon. Neither of them can hold you accountable for hacking/repurposing it. However, if someone has a chance that would be CueCat.
Wifi chips are cheap. So cheap, that I'd all but guarantee they're still making a profit on it, even at $5. You can get ESP8266 chips from people in china for about $2.50 each including shipping, and those will do everything these buttons do. Given Amazon's volume, they probably cost half that for them, so hacking them is pretty much free advertising.
Something similar could be built easily using an ESP8266, but a single AA battery would not be enough. Looking at this guide[1] it looks like new sw can already be flashed on it, but other than using the uart or some gpio, i don't see attempts at using the wifi interface.
Amazon's WiFi Button is way way better than the ESP8266: it has 1MBit internal flash, 16MBit external flash, a powerful 120MHz microcontroller with tons of peripherals (2 DACs, 3 ADCs, etc), an internal MEMS microphone (!)
The microcontroller on Amazon's button also has a real 1500-page documentation in English, instead of 10-page badly translated Chinese datasheet.
Here at Penn we have a research platform where we try to motivate (among other things) medication adherence. We have integrated with various devices in the past that automatically track when the meds are taken, but for some reason the vendors of these devices always seem to flake out. We've been thinking lately that a simpler approach where people just push a button when they take their meds might be more sustainable, especially as a simpler device may reduce our dependence on those outside vendors.
What we're looking for: A simple, preferably small device, that we can program to make HTTP calls home to our server. Participants in our studies are scattered geographically and not all of them have wifi, so cellular is crucial. We have done studies with anywhere from a few hundred to a thousand+ participants, and hope to scale up beyond that as well, so cost at scale is a big factor. Today I came across bt.tn, and I love the UI simplicity of their product, but their prices are high, and it seems they don't include SIM cards with their buttons. Particle.io's prices are more in line with what we're looking for (especially the $3/month data fee), but my concern is that (at least from their website) the devices still look like hobbyist electronics with PCBs still visible, rather than like simple consumer devices.
Does anyone have suggestions for something with the UI simplicity of Amazon Dash or bttn but without bttn's price point? (Or feel like making us 500 or 1000 such things? The economics can totally be worth it.)
Those are all dev kits, rather than consumer devices. I don't have hardware experience, and have no interest (in my current professional context) in ordering casings, mechanical buttons, or anything else. I just want to feed it a webhook URL and mail it out.
Readit News
When analyzing other aspects of my life such as spending, I have tools to show me what I've done in the past, and those tools can help me improve (e.g. spending reports). This is admittedly reactionary, but I find it useful nonetheless. Track enough other "stuff about stuff", and I think the data could become interesting over time, providing similar "hindsight" that in turn can be used to improve oneself.
Of course, this means it will be necessary to have button things all over the place...
I think IFTTT is working on a Pebble app as well, but it hasn't launched.
Making it context aware is possible too (e.g. in the bathroom or at work) with some thinking of Wifi routers or if you wanted NFC tags, iBeacons.
It's also fairly cheap at $19 (though not as cheap as these Amazon buttons, of course).
Edit: Misfit Flash is an activity / fitness tracker: http://misfit.com/products/flash
[1] http://senic.com
I thought it was quite a good idea!
No, seriously, the bathroom is the last place I want the quantified self.
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Here's a summary of the reports I've gotten since publishing it the other week:
1) It works. Most likely problem you'll have is installing the Python libraries I used.
2) Check the comments for a version someone posted that works on RasberryPI with no extra libraries.
3) I'd love to hear what you build. Coolest use case so far is a few folks using it as a remote light switch for connected light bulbs.
Overall I think this is great. I can see this being useful for a variety of different tracking; not only for infants. I'd probably go a step further and using my router I'd block the Wifi Button from having access to the web. I can just imagine the feeling of having many unexpected packages showing up at my door.
But I wonder if it might be done when leaving out the WiFi and most of the processing power from the button, and having essentially what is a RF remote control (like used for remote controlled outlet switches) with a receiving station. The receiver would be the "expensive" part, the gateway to Wifi/Internet and contain all the logic that links a button press to something usefull like a HTTP request.
A kit of
5x Etekcity Outlet Receivers 2x Remote Control Transmitters 2x 12V Batteries
can be had for 30 bucks including shipping, so based on that I could see it done.
Edit: obviously the behavior of such a button would have to be much better than a typical cheap remote control regarding reliably registering and then transmitting each and every button press, so the comparison is of course very limited
I bet the $5 price point is something they arrived at mostly by asking what customers are _willing_ to pay.
That whole concept is so new they would not hinder it's success by making the button $10 or anything near the true cost. Amazon is all about investing in growth, and this is very likely an investment. Maybe not even that much in additional sales, but in mindshare for a totally new and unique shopping experience.
All of that does not work for an open "does anything you want"-button, so anybody designing and selling such a thing would have to think very very different about the hardware cost.
The Android version works about as I would have guessed, by using the Dash Button as an access point, and the app helps you connect to it. But the Apple version communicates with the phone by ultrasonic tones!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CueCat
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/89
Do the Amazon Dash buttons come with a license agreement? Has anyone read it to see if it prohibits these kinds of hacks?
[1] https://learn.adafruit.com/dash-hacking-bare-metal-stm32-pro...
The microcontroller on Amazon's button also has a real 1500-page documentation in English, instead of 10-page badly translated Chinese datasheet.
What we're looking for: A simple, preferably small device, that we can program to make HTTP calls home to our server. Participants in our studies are scattered geographically and not all of them have wifi, so cellular is crucial. We have done studies with anywhere from a few hundred to a thousand+ participants, and hope to scale up beyond that as well, so cost at scale is a big factor. Today I came across bt.tn, and I love the UI simplicity of their product, but their prices are high, and it seems they don't include SIM cards with their buttons. Particle.io's prices are more in line with what we're looking for (especially the $3/month data fee), but my concern is that (at least from their website) the devices still look like hobbyist electronics with PCBs still visible, rather than like simple consumer devices.
Does anyone have suggestions for something with the UI simplicity of Amazon Dash or bttn but without bttn's price point? (Or feel like making us 500 or 1000 such things? The economics can totally be worth it.)
+ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sparkdevices/spark-elec...
+ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/konekt/konekt-dash-cell...
+ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/264813863/bluz-bluetoot...