The Doo app makes every home smart

Imagine you have just arrived upcountry, only to remember you left the fridge on. Leaving the fridge running will not only mean it will continue to consume electricity but will also freeze some items that should not be frozen. What if you had a way of switching it on and off from your rural location? It turns out, now with the Doo application, that  you can do this exactly. The app uses voice commands to get your cooker on or your water heater switched off remotely. 

Components

The Doo app was designed and developed following years of rigorous technical research to make it an ideal choice for those looking for smart home solutions. Dhruv Thakkar, the head of business development  at Doo Technologies, says this app enables users to control appliances such as the fridge, TV, water heater, the microwave and lighting. The app is installed using a router-like device, which is the central gateway, which comes with switch panels that are set up in your home. It is then connected to your smartphone to enable operations. 

Benefits
This app will save energy and time, giving you double value for your money. For instance you can set up cooking schedules for your cooker from your mobile app or automatically switch your lights on and off at a preset time.  

Dhruv explains, “The scene function allows you to put multiple actions together and initiate them with a single tap or voice command. For instance, you can create a night scene to turn off all lights and turn on a fan or air conditioner with just a single tap.”

Even better, this smart home app has an option of other users accessing certain home appliances or spaces. 

“You can give access to other guests even in your absence where they can still be restricted to other rooms and can only control the lights you give to them,” Dhruv says.

Integrated

While there are many smart home automations on the market offering different services, Doo app focuses on integrating all functions and services in one format or platform. 

You can have the lighting, appliances all placed under one system and not from different suppliers, which helps one manage the app easily. This function makes the app superior from the rest and much cheaper.  The app also comes with security features such as child lock, finger prints, smart door locks and passcodes.

He explains, “The child lock alone allows one to enable or disable access to any appliance or device from the device menu and also from scene and scheduler.”

Cost

The app costs Shs1.5m and comes with a five year warranty. 

He explains, “We are cheaper by one fourth of the competitor’s price. We sell the gateway hub at Shs1m as opposed to Shs4m of the competitor’s price, as well as the switch panels that go for less than the competitor’s price for each switch depending on how many switches one is purchasing.”

The app is easy to maintain and is user-friendly. “The gateway should always be connected to the wireless settings. The smart switch panels are water resistant and can survive a touch from wet hands out of the shower,” he says.

Before choosing

There are a few things everyone will have to do in order to get ready for their smart devices.

Internet connection

Since all smart home devices use the internet to communicate, you will want to make sure you have WiFi strong enough to handle information sharing. For larger homes, you may want to even consider getting multiple routers. 

Identify your needs

Before purchasing the app, find out exactly what you are looking for from a smart home, and then pick the areas you want to start addressing right now. This will prevent you from buying a fancy new gadget only which you never use because it cannot meet any of your needs. 

Future plans

While the app has been largely embraced by the young generation that is tech survey, there is a growing market among the elderly, for which the company is planning to innovate specific products.  

The expert shares, “We intend to programme lights where we assign a number to each light to switch off using remote accessibility and control as visual impairment aid for elderly.”

He also says they plan to integrate cameras in the app in order to view real time videos and additional security features to create a rich user experience.