Thermodo Is A Tiny Thermometer For Your iPhone

The App Store has many weather related apps and they all feature more and more functions, such as the ability to be alerted when it is about to rain in your area. All of them can also tell you the temperature in your local area, but none of them can tell you what the temperature is in the exact place that you are at the moment. Basically, none of them have the function of a thermometer. Until now. A new device that connects to your iPhone (or Android and WP8 smartphone) is basically a thermometer for the smartphone. It was made by Robocat, a developer that also made Haze among other weather related apps.

The name of the device is Thermodo and it connects to your iPhone (or Android and WP8 smartphone) through the device’s headphone jack. Thermodo uses a sensor to measure the air temperature in the exact place where you are when using it. It also comes with an app that shows you the reading in real time, so for example you can see if the temperature is climbing or falling.

Thermodo comes in two not so different models. The basic Thermodo model has a price tag of thirty dollars and it comes in three color variants: a black color variant, a red color variant and a silver color variant. The premium Thermodo model is $15 dollars pricier than the basic model and it offers a brushed aluminum finish with engraved logos. When it comes to specs and features, both the basic and the premium model feature the same temperature reading capabilities and the only difference between them is purely visual. Unless you really care abut aesthetics, the basic model should be enough especially since the $15 dollar difference doesn’t get you better specs, more features or improved performance. What is very interesting is that Thermodo is a Kickstarted device, managing to raise $336,018, despite having an initial goal of only $35,000. This is the project description from Kickstarter:

What is Thermodo?

Thermodo is a sleek little thermometer for your mobile devices, accurate and expertly built hardware that you can have with you everywhere.?Thermodo is designed and produced by Robocat. Support for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android. Now with Thermodo companion app with SDK for iOS and Android. Windows Phone support possible once stretch goal is reached.

How does Thermodo work?

Thermodo consists of a passive temperature sensor built into a standard 4 pole audio jack enclosed by a sturdy housing. This allows your mobile device to read Thermodo’s temperature straight from the audio input. Thermodo sends an audio signal through the temperature sensor. This sensor will then attenuate the signal amplitude depending on the actual temperature. This attenuation can now be detected on the microphone input and through software we calculate the corresponding temperature. Easy peasy! We call this the Thermodo Principle?. Simply plug Thermodo into your device and start the companion app or any other Thermodo enabled apps of your choice. The temperature reading takes place instantly. Thermodo is powered by your device. No external power is required, it can even run in the background while you do important stuff.

Where can I use Thermodo?

You can measure the temperature indoors as well as outdoors. Track the temperature and see how it rises after you turned on the radiator or check how the temperature drops during a summer night. No network connection required. Thermodo comes with a neat little keyring so you’ll always have it with you.

Apps and developers

We are building a free Thermodo companion app for iOS and Android, but Thermodo already works with our own apps, Thermo and Haze. So once you get your Thermodo, there should be plenty of things to do with it. However, we won’t stop there. We’re making an open source software developer kit (SDK) available to anyone who wants to build their own Thermodo integration into their products. The sky is the limit here, Mac apps? PC apps? Linux apps? Other iOS, Android and Windows Phone apps? Arduino or Raspberry Pi support? Social temperature? Runkeeper + Temperature? We’ll see.

The device works as advertised regardless of the smartphone you use it with (be it Android or iOS powered) and it manages to read the air temperature in the environment, in real time and it accurately shows you when the air temperature climbs or drops. If you decide to suddenly put the Thermodo device in an extreme environment (for example, in the freezer) you will see the transition of temperature in real time, displayed on the companion app (unless you own a Windows Phone 8 powered smartphone, which does not feature a companion app due to the project not reaching the associated Stretch Goal on Kickstarter). Speaking of the companion app, it also offers some adjustments in case you need to adjust the readings of the sensor or compensate for the device heating, but if you want an accurate reading, use an audio extension cable.

However, despite being able to accurately measure the temperature Thermodo doesn’t have any other use and it is, at best, a fun device that you will use for a little while until losing interest in it. But we can see its sensor being very important if incorporated in Apple’s upcoming iWatch is rumored to feature a very wide range of sensor and biosensors, from blood measuring sensors to pulse oximetry. A sensor that measures air temperature, coupled with sensors for air humidity or pressure could make the iWatch a complete device.

Back to the Thermodo, if you really want a temperature measuring device (that is very accurate and gives you temperature readings in real time) and you can part with thirty bucks (you really don’t need the premium model), Thermodo is for you. However, keep in mind that all it does is measure the temperature, nothing more, nothing less, so it won’t replace your favorite weather app. We would like to know what you think about Thermodo; would you buy one or would you rather its sensor be integrated in the upcoming iWatch? Use the dedicated section below to leave a comment.