mui Board Gen 2: Distraction-free smart-home life

Hello, everyone! We are mui Lab, a Kyoto-based IoT design startup. We are a group of engineers and designers who are dedicated to creating “calm” technologies that enable more mindful living. Conventional devices force us to do what’s unnatural to humans — like hunching over tiny glass screens and constantly dividing our attention between notifications and our loved ones. Several years ago, we decided to develop an interface that can help us thrive as human beings without being dominated by technology. That’s how the mui Board was born. And we are thrilled to introduce the new, Matter-supported version, “mui Board Gen 2,” to the Product Hunt community! The mui Board is made with real wood – a natural material that’s soothing to touch and beautiful to look at – contrary to the cold and unnatural feel of smart glass and plastic. The control menu magically appears on the wood surface when needed, and disappears in sleep mode to blend in with the room decor. We applied Calm Technology principles to design the minimalist interface that effectively communicates necessary information only, and blends everyday chores (involving natural physical movements, like wiping down your kitchen table) into scene prompts. With mui Board Gen 2, you can: - Control various Matter appliances and devices (lighting, thermostat, window coverings, speakers, etc.) - Check time, temperature and weather conditions - Finger-draw/write messages to loved ones - Finger-draw your own timers (and see it count down to gradually disappear) - Set a scene with the one-tap prompt, “Tap on Wood” - Find how you are using energy with “Energy Window,” a daily home energy-use analysis platform for Japan users (similar feature could be a future add-on for global users) We envision the mui Board as an alternative to, not a replacement of, traditional technologies. For example, people might use the mui Board in their bedrooms and other traditional smart home systems in their living rooms, so they have the latter’s convenience but can rest more peacefully at night. Please send us your feedback and suggestions to robin@muilab.com.