Almond+ Offers a Fresh, Automated Approach to Routers

Thanks to Kickstarter, we may soon be able to glimpse into the future of smart buildings. A new router called the Almond+ has raised more than $500,000 in its quest to change the way we use routers in homes and offices.

This innovative piece of hardware offers 802.11ac Wi-FI, at speeds up to 1.17Gb/s, and a touch-screen interface that makes operation simple. But that is only the beginning.

The Almond+ is a router, but it can also be the operations center for a home or an office. It’s compatible with hundreds of products from Z-Wave and ZigBee, makers of outlets, alarm systems, thermostats that can connect to the Internet.

Users can operate a number of devices and events inside a home or an office via the touch-screen interface on the Almond+ or a smartphone app. It ties together available technology to streamline daily operations, save power and increase efficiency, reports TechCrunch.

The appeal of Almond and Almond+ routers lie in their ability to take a device that has remained largely unchanged in terms of user interface, and update that hardware for a world where users have generally moved beyond having to enter IP addresses into browser address bars just to configure their device. The original Almond was the first router that brought complete setup via touchscreen input to the device itself, which while already handy, will probably become more so as the trend towards mobile computing continues.

This is more than a router. It’s a hub — and it’s the future.