IFTTT (If This Then That) is one of the most innovative ways to control your smart devices.
And as of right now, you can use it to control Mysa!
You can cross that one off our product roadmap.
It's one of those features that we knew we wanted from the minute we started building Mysa. It opens a lot of doors with compatibility and we think it will be one of the most important automation control systems for years to come. It basically is the beginning of the culmination of all those smart home dreams. A system that builds upon its smart home ancestors and turns your home into the automated fantasy you’ve always wanted.
How so?
What if, when you walk into your house, everything is perfect. You've spent the money on all the right devices. You've hooked them up to your network, customized every one. Let some of them learn your preferences. So, how close are we to the perfect smart home? And how do we get there?
While obsessing over every little detail of your home's setup – every brightness level, every degree of temperature, every command volume, or triggering distance is, well…. nice, the real beauty of smart homes will be when you don't need to do any of these things and when your house does them for you.
So let's see how far you can go without pressing a single button.
You drive home from work, smartphone in pocket or purse. (or for that matter, smartwatch on wrist).
As you pull into your driveway, the garage door automatically opens, closing behind you once you turn the key to turn the car off.
You exit the car, grab your phone, approach your door. Click. The door unlocks. Click. Your car door locks as you get just far enough away.
You walk into a spotless house. The vacuuming and mopping have all been done – by smart robots. You can see they did their job because your smart lights have turned on to your perfect “after-work” level.
The Geolocation on your phone already knew you were on your way home and told the house to start certain routines in advance. Your room is at the perfect temperature thanks to your smart thermostat, your smart coffee maker has a hot cup of joe waiting for you, and your smart diffuser has the house faintly smelling of sandalwood.
Smart switches flick on the TV, and app integrations start up a playlist on Spotify.
You sit down, kick back, and enjoy the tunes and end of day coffee.
And the beauty of it all? Not once did you have to do a thing or press a button, outside of the initial setup.
How?
Now, this is an ideal situation (especially the sandalwood) – and it's by no means an exhaustive list of everything a smart home could do. But setting all of this up without saying anything or doing anything just isn't possible with every device or smart home system. It takes a little more. It takes IFTTT.
So What's IFTTT?
IFTTT (If This Then That) is one of the handiest of the home automation systems. Devices work in unison to complete tasks, triggering one another so that complex chains work at the touch of a button, speaking a word, or even just the clock striking a certain time. It's an easy and intuitive way to simplify ever-expanding smart home setups. In some instances, it can bridge the gap between devices and systems that were never built to be compatible. IFTTT is a platform-neutral way to coordinate the functions of a wide variety of smart devices. It runs completely on the cloud, so a constant internet connection is required for automation.
It works exactly as the name sounds – If this thing happens, that thing will happen. You set up these little instances by creating or downloading applets – pre-coded commands that you can control from the IFTTT interface, which is available through an app or online. IFTTT integrates all sorts of inputs: location, app or text commands, voice, etc – the system is set up to be as open as possible, not hindered by proprietary hardware or brand limitations.
IFTTT is a big part of the future of the smart home industry and we'll be using it to its utmost capability with Mysa.
We've launched with a slate of helpful applets that you can put to use right away, including those based on location, weather, and to help you keep up to date with any new features and IFTTT applets we come up with. Check out Mysa's IFTTT collection here or make your own applets.