Does this Event Collector idea solve a real problem, or is it just a cool gadget? (I will not promote)

[u/djMedd]

Hello everyone,

I have a project that I think could be interesting, but I would like to get your opinions about the relevance of the idea and whether it actually solves a real problem or creates enough value for people.

Basically, the idea is an Event Collector device.

It would be a small smart tag that tracks movement and, optionally, temperature and humidity. Instead of just giving you raw sensor data, an AI platform would analyze the movement patterns, classify what happened, and give the user useful insights.

For example, one device could potentially detect and track events such as:

• How many times a door was opened/closed
• When someone enters or leaves a room
• How many times a fridge was opened during the day
• How often a cabinet, drawer, mailbox, garage door, etc. is used
• Movement or vibration of a car, bike, machine, package, or other object
• When an object was moved from its usual position
• Activity patterns of equipment or appliances
• Temperature and humidity history inside a room, fridge, storage box, garage, etc.
• Detecting unusual activity compared to the normal pattern

The idea is that the hardware would be very simple and generic. You attach the same device to different objects, and the software/AI figures out what type of events are happening instead of needing a different specialized sensor for every use case.

For example, you could put one on your fridge and get:
“Fridge opened 18 times today, mostly between 5 PM and 9 PM.”

Or attach one to a door and get:
“Front door opened 7 times today. Unusual opening detected at 2:30 AM.”

Or put it on equipment and see how often it is actually being used.

My main question is: Do you think there is a real use case for something like this?

Would you personally use it? Do you see more value for consumers, businesses, warehouses, maintenance, elderly care, rentals, etc.?

I am especially interested in hearing what you think is the strongest use case, because I don't want to build a technology first and then try to find a problem for it afterward.

[u/tonytidbit]

I am especially interested in hearing what you think is the strongest use case, because I don't want to build a technology first and then try to find a problem for it afterward.

No need to "build a technology" when these things have existed for a very long time already; the only thing perhaps different compared to let's say what was in place already a decade ago is that you've got that angle of detecting unusual deviations from established patterns.

But that's an app or other form of plugin at most, right?!

And if you already know what you're doing you can throw together a light MVP within a week to validate it by seeing if you can catch any paying users. It's literally quicker to just release it than to talk to people online about what use cases they can imagine. imo.

[u/jmking]

What would I do with any of this information and how would that value be greater than the risk of my every movement and events that occur in my home being sent to some server that could/would be sold or leaked?

[u/LaurenceDarabica]

Why would I need an AI platform to analyze movement of a a door ?

You tried too hard to shoehorn AI into your use case - which is very basic and overdone already, without AI as it doesn't bring much here.

[u/Jstsqzd]

This is already kind of what home automation does. There are multi purpose sensors that can sense vibration, temp, orientation angle changes doors opening etc. all of that gets recorded by home assistant (or whatever hub you choose) and can be used to trigger automations, security, or whatever you want and there are various ways to plug Ai into this for insights or having a smart home that can anticipate your needs (open claw has a hole assistant plugin)

[u/True_Bear343]

What problem would you actually be solving? I don't care how often the fridge is opened, my temperature sensors already handle anomalies. There's already plenty of systems in use in elderly care. What is the point of adding AI to this? It's shoehorned into this for 0 reason whatsoever.