SmartMat lets you know who's at the door

A South Carolina-based inventor has come up with a WiFi-enabled doormat capable of sending alerts or triggering certain actions according to who is standing on it. The SmartMat will go into production if it reaches its goal on the crowdfunding website KickStarter.

A South Carolina-based inventor has come up with a WiFi-enabled doormat capable of sending alerts or triggering certain actions according to who is standing on it. The SmartMat will go into production if it reaches its goal on the crowdfunding website KickStarter.

Using a sensitive plastic film, the SmartMat detects the presence of specific people or pets and identifies them by their weight.

This means the SmartMat can be used to track the comings and goings of various members of the household, and even to send text message alerts in certain situations, alerting a dog owner, for example, when their pet is ready to come back inside. The SmartMat can also be programmed to turn on the lights in certain rooms when a member of the household is about to enter, or even to log that member into Twitter on the home PC.

The project has until April 26 to reach its fundraising goal of $15,000. Those who donate $75 or more can expect to receive one of the first SmartMats, which will be available as early as this May.