Dutch startup Innovation in Motion has an important goal: to make homes even more 'smart' than they already are. The first product to hit the market later this year is the Slide, a system that ensures that even the simplest curtains are automated.
Founders Thijs Olthof and Kaj Beetstra are now looking for funding for their startup and are doing so via Leapfunder. 5,000 pre-orders have already been made for the Slide.
Innovation in Motion shone in Sprout's 'startup of the week' last week. In it, we read that the young company combines hardware and software into smart home products. Its website states that Innovation in Motion wants to "reinvent the everyday". They focus on everyday products in the home that are not yet "smart", for example because existing smart solutions are complex and expensive. Doorbells, thermostats and lamps are examples of products that are already smart and for which many good solutions already exist. Olthof and Beetstra look for the category of products that have not yet found their way into automation.
Curtains
The two ended up with curtains first for that. Their motorisation will be combined with Internet of Things. They are developing the hardware for this, called the Slide, themselves. "We don't buy white-label hardware from China," Olthof told Sprout. The Slide is a system that automates existing curtains in a simple way. People who want it now have to have a completely new curtain rail custom-made and installed. The Slide is a simple motor system that can be clicked onto almost any existing rail or rod. After installation, you can then control the curtains with a remote control or your smartphone. That way, you can wake up to natural light in the morning or protect your home from burglars when you are on holiday. Slide can also communicate directly with Google and Amazon's voice assistants, which are likely to come to the Netherlands later this year.
Slide is not the first automation system for curtains, but it is the first to target the consumer market. "Motorised curtains have been around for a long time," the founders explain on their crowdfunding page. "But those are all based on the same mechanical system, where a motor unit is attached to a special rail, which has to be custom-made. The associated labour, production and logistics costs are huge. As a result, these products are expensive and only available to people with high incomes. This makes them a truly niche product. Because they are custom-made, they also cannot be sold from the shelf by retailers. We solved this by omitting the custom-made rails. We managed to develop and patent our own mechanical design, which works with almost every existing curtain rail. Instead of a custom-made rail, we use an 'open-loop' system with a cable that is four times stronger than steel and rotates alongside your existing rails."
Slide is now almost ready to go into production. "With the help of an angel investment and funding from crowdfunding, the prototype has been developed into a robust and reliable product ready to go to shops." The entrepreneurs believe they have had the most critical phase with the development of the prototype, as making the universal system was the biggest challenge. Now the focus is on launching Slide in the Dutch market. The team is also working on ideas for other products.
Founders
Olthof and Beetstra met at a meet-up for young entrepreneurs in spring 2016. At that time, Beetstra (entrepreneur and inventor) was already working on the underlying technology for Slide, but he did not yet have a clear product proposition, according to Sprout. Olthof (with a consultancy background) immediately sees opportunities and they decide to join forces. Olthof told Sprout: "We saw that very few parties are working on motorisation within smart home concepts. Traditional parties in motorisation focus on the higher segment because of customisation. Large players in smart home products are actually strong in electronics and software, but have little knowledge of motorisation and mechanics. We want to fill that gap in the market."
Innovation in Motion says there is already a lot of interest in Slide, not only from the Netherlands but also from the United States and Germany, among others. According to Sprout, the Americans' main appeal is burglary prevention, while the Dutch find it an interesting product because of its comfort.
Source: Sprout.co.uk
By: Kelly Bakker
