Bitfinder’s Awair Air Monitor Is Now Available For Pre-Order

Bitfinder, launched out of the R/GA accelerator in February, has opened up pre-order availability for the Awair air-monitoring system.

The Awair sits in the home, office or other indoor space to monitor the quality of the air in that environment, with sensors to detect temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide (CO2), fine dust particles (PM2.5) and volatile organic compounds (VOC). The information is then securely transferred to an app that gives you a readout of the air quality.

But it goes beyond tracking the environment to take into account the user’s main health interests and suggest recommended products, like humidifiers or smart thermostats.

The Awair also connects with various smart devices and has a chip that can be put into dumber electronics, humidifiers and purifiers, that don’t have any way to connect to the platform. Right now, the platform automatically integrates with products such as the Philips Hue lightbulbs and the Misfit Shine, with plans to integrate with Nest and IFTTT for other products. This ensures that the Awair is using every possible resource at its disposal to make sure you’re breathing clean, healthy air.

To simplify the process, Bitfinder combines the preferences of the user towards what kind of air they want, as well as the algorithms that determine the various qualities of the air to give a combined Awair Score. It gives a little context to the state of the space without getting into the particulars.

The Bitfinder Awair is designed to look a lot like a speaker, said co-founder Ronald Ro, and should be able to go anywhere you’d normally put a Bluetooth speaker. It has an old-school feel and is made with real wood. You can also hook up multiple Awair units to a single space to get a comprehensive readout of the home.

The device is currently available for pre-order for $149 per unit, with plans to ship in fall 2015. The company says that pre-order pricing is discounted and will eventually expire.

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