Welle (pronounced vell-uh) is a smart device that instantly turns any surface into a “smart” interface using Sonar Technology through hand gestures. Welle gives you the ability to use unlimited simple gestures to control your favorite Internet of Things (IoT) devices, appliances, and apps – so powerful it even tracks your finger movements and recognizes handwriting.

With Welle, the entire surface becomes connected to Sonar, allowing you to use hand gestures to control all your smart devices, such as lights, TVs, speakers, doors, thermostats, cameras, curtain/blinds, fans; and even PowerPoint presentations, apps, and IFTTT (If this, then that) conditional task applets, and more. Welle is launching today on Kickstarter.

Welle works in the home, office, or anywhere with a Bluetooth connection. Simply place the tiny Welle on any convenient surface or location, or mount Welle on a wall with the included 3M stickers. Working as a universal remote for all kinds of IoT devices and appliances, Welle uses the most advanced Sonar-based gesture control, replacing the multiple traditional household remote controls for a convenient and enjoyable connected home and office experience.

Welle recognizes standardized gestures and also lets you assign your own gestures or handwriting short-cuts to interact with devices everywhere in your life. Welle means “wave” in German and Welle’s logo shows two fingers tracking human gestures with ultrasonic waves. Welle uses Sonar Technology, advanced ultrasonic signals used in the military, automotive and drone markets, that can accurately track human movements.

Welle’s Sonar Technology transmits signal pulses and collects the reflected energy back from targets, identifying motions, gestures, and finger movements from the echoed signals. These echoes are translated into different instructions and words to IoT devices using an advanced hardware design and software algorithms. The Welle Sonar Technology tracks your fingers when you touch a surface and can even recognize handwriting motions, transforming them into customized actions. Conventional gesture detectors, such as those used in smartphones, only provide single gesture readings.

In contrast, Welle provides rich information, such as trajectory data and digitized gestures, enabling a wide variety of control functions for everyday convenience. “Human hands are one of nature’s most perfect creations. They are highly sensitive and can manipulate objects with fine dexterity. The iPhone ushered in the era of touch control, but its under-glass technology diminishes the hand’s tactile feel, limiting the ability to control devices with a high degree of sensitivity,” said Mark Zeng, CEO, Welle. “Welle overcomes this obstacle by creating convenient controls for people at home and at work. The feedback has been amazing. People first say ‘Wow!’ and then they ask how they can get a Welle for themselves and their friends. We love that!”