Last month, we asked our Kinetic users to send us a video showcasing a project they built using the Kinetic platform. We were quite impressed by the submissions we received, the innovation and ingenuity displayed. (As an aside...I may be a little biased here, but our customers do some really cool stuff.) Rather than tell you all about it, let's highlight an example! Check this out.
Never show up to your meetings empty handed ever again! Create an unforgettable moment with your boss that will for sure get you that raise at your next employee review (hint-hint!). To be as impressive as one of our Kinetic users, Matt Lockwood, follow these steps:
What You Will Need
- A Smart Outlet (unless your coffee maker supports smart control through an API)
- A Coffee maker with a toggle switch or smart control through an API
- A server running Node-RED
- Kinetic Platform
How it works
Like many people nowadays, my home is filled with smart appliances and IoT devices. To control those devices, I use a software called Node-RED, which is a low-code platform for building applications and geared towards home automation. Using Node-RED, I setup an API endpoint that, when called, would trigger the smart outlet connected to the coffee maker to turn on and start brewing my favorite morning beverage.
With the API endpoint setup, I opened a port in my firewall to allow Kinetic access to my network. On the Kinetic side, a form was created with custom workflow. Using the Ruby based task engine (which allowed me to hide all the important connection data from end users), I setup a network request that would call the API endpoint and kickoff the whole process.
To Sum it Up
While this was just a fun little project, it really shows the power of an open system like Kinetic. While you can rapidly build and prototype forms and workflow using the low-code aspects of the platform, you can also extend the functionality of Kinetic through custom code. Similar use cases to turn Kinetic into a control center for various software applications and hardware appliances are just one example of workflow automation in action, making the possibilities endless and truly allowing for 'the sky's the limit' thinking.
