Hasta La Ideas

I’m not quite sure what to make of an IndieGoGo project that turned up in the inbox over the holiday: the EveryTouchFX is a haptic switch that is designed specifically for household applications. The wired black box turns most any decorative element into a simple capacitive switch, effectively touch-enabling everyday objects through osmosis. Watch:

The team behind the EveryTouchFX is based in Poland and Philadelphia, PA, USA (if you can’t tell from the introduction to the pitch vid); hence, unironic locutions such as “From now on comonly [sic] used and know [sic] switches will go down in history thanks to an invention, which is patent protected.”

Ambiguously bombastic copywriting notwithstanding, my BS meter isn’t going off, and I don’t think it’s a hoax—it’s hard to tell from the video, but if the EveryTouchFX can reliably ‘learn’ the materials (up to 10cm thick) in which it is ’embedded,’ the input device might have additional applications in everything from DIY projects to defense to exhibition design.

As for the more mundane household setting, I don’t know it’s worth $100 for what is at best a dubious upgrade—it’s bad enough walking into a bathroom where the light switch isn’t adjacent to the door; I don’t know that a wall tile or vanity would make for a more practical trigger for illumination. With no backers as of press time, they may need to rethink the strategy for their campaign—seven and a half weeks may not be enough time to sell 1,000 switches to individuals…

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