The Orbnext wants to color-code your cloud

We’ve seen plenty of creative LEDs on crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, and new multicolor smart bulb options like Lifx and the LuMini LED are getting increasingly diverse (and increasingly affordable). Even so, the $99 Orbnext from Colorado-based Advanced Lumonics Labs looks to be a potential standout.

The attractive, three-inch Wi-Fi-enabled glass cube is (according to Orbnext’s Kickstarter page) an “always-on LED data display device” that’s capable of visualizing any piece of information you deem important simply by changing colors. The light show comes courtesy of the ten integrated multicolor Cree LEDs. Sweetening the deal is Orbnext’s promise of integrating IFTTT, the emerging standard for easy DIY programming and automation.

If this concept sounds familiar, that’s because it’s been around for longer than you might think. Ten years ago, CNET’s Brian Cooley reviewed the Ambient Orb, a color-changing sphere that would alert users to changes in the weather, the Dow Jones, or — for a monthly fee — specific things like whether or not the kids were online. 2006 saw a Lagomorphic twist on the idea which added wiggling rabbit ears and audio output.

Check out the color-changing Orbnext (pictures)
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As a descendant of the Ambient Orb, the Orbnext promises more robust alert options without the monthly fees (and without the Orb shape). There’s also the Orbnext app, which offers those same default weather and stock notification modes, along with a mood-light-ready color changer. For more user-specific lighting alerts, Advanced Lumonics appears to be relying almost entirely on IFTTT.

In addition to the app’s lighting controls, you’ll be able to connect the Orbnext to your Wi-Fi network simply by letting the app flash a light pattern at it. That’s the same nifty connection method that Quirky + GE smart devices use — which isn’t surprising, given that Quirky products and the Orbnext use the same Electric Imp platform. Advanced Lumonics is also offering a retrofit kit which will allow owners of the Ambient Orb to upgrade to the new platform.

If the Ambient Orb was perhaps a bit ahead of its time in its attempt to color-code the smart home (it predated the original iPhone by three years), then the Orbnext might be a bit on the tardy side. Products like the Philips Hue line of LEDs already offer smart color control and full IFTTT integration, as does the $30 Blink(1), a tiny, hack-friendly RGB LED that plugs into your computer’s USB port.

Still, by putting more of an emphasis on product design, the Orbnext might be able to claim the same unique appeal of its predecessor. As Brian Cooley put it back in 2004, “all we know is that we like this thing.”

Connect with these IFTTT-friendly smart devices (pictures)
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Now, a decade later, there’s even more to like, given the sheer scope of services and devices IFTTT integration brings to the table. The list includes the usual social networks like Facebook and Twitter, along with web services ranging from ESPN to Pushbullet, as well as popular connected gadgets like SmartThings sensors and Belkin WeMo switches. As the Orbnext website puts it, IFTTT integration provides “virtually limitless flexibility to build custom notifications or monitor other internet enabled devices on your network.”

The only question is whether or not that IFTTT integration is as much of a done deal as the website — which talks about the Orbnext’s IFTTT compatibility in unconditional, present-tense terms — would have you believe. Manufacturers and developers can only submit an application for a dedicated IFTTT channel after their product or service is available to the general public. Orbnext won’t be available until late summer at the earliest, and can’t even launch a full-scale pre-order run until the close of its Kickstarter campaign.

Still, Advanced Lumonics’ R&D Leader Mike Costigliola tells me that the Orbnext team has received confirmation from IFTTT that they can begin working on programming their channel. He also pointed to the recent announcement of dedicated IFTTT channels for each device in the Quirky + GE lineup. With the same Electric Imp hardware running inside of the Orbnext, Advanced Lumonics is anticipating an equally seamless integration.

A limited number of Orbnext units are available for reservation through the product’s Kickstarter page (including a select number of units discounted to $79), with shipping scheduled for August of this year. That said, given the amount of eggs Orbnext is placing in the IFTTT basket, consumers might want to wait for confirmation of that dedicated channel before making a purchase.