Integrating More of the Home

Olibra Bond Sidekick Keypad Bridges Smart Home Control to Overlooked Household Appliances

- Jay Basen

Smart home products manufacturer Olibra is focused on connecting often-overlooked household items, such as ceiling fans, fireplaces, and shades, to the rest of a smart home. Their first product, the Bond Bridge, allowed users to integrate fireplaces, shades, and ceiling fans that are controlled by RF (radio frequency) and IR (infrared) remote controls into a smart home. Then the Bond Bridge Pro removed the IR functionality, but expanded into motorized shades integration and offered increased RF range, more devices that could be controlled, and the ability to work with Bond Sidekick keypads.

The Bond Sidekick keypad seems very simple at first. It offers an eight-button keypad that comes in two versions: a Sidekick for Shades or a Sidekick Scene Keypad.