Finalist | OORT (Poland) - Smart Home with Bluetooth Smart

The Polish startup OORT has developed a smart home system for houses and apartments based on Bluetooth Smart technology. In terms of user-friendly technology, this takes OORT one step further than most other providers of smart home solutions. We talked to the OORT CEO Radek Tadajewski to know more about his motivations and the motivations of his team.

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Where did your idea for the company come from?

Radek Tadajewski: I was always into new technologies. That’s why for a long time I was a CEO of a venture capital fund that invested in technology-related projects. I was looking for an innovative global idea to invest in, but nothing quite met my expectations. Somehow there was always something missing. So I decided to start my own venture and that’s how the OORT story begins.

For which kind of audience is your product or service intended and what problem is it solving?

The smart home is currently the most promising market for Bluetooth devices. Because OORT based its technology on Bluetooth Smart, users don’t need to purchase expensive mobile devices to control their homes. The system will work with any Bluetooth Smart-enabled device, even ones users have already purchased – including wearables. It’s the user who decides which devices are attractive to him, so he can create his own personal smart home system. The system works regardless of smartphone manufacturer or OS.

What’s more, OORT Bluetooth Smart controllers can be added to any device to turn it into a smart one, so that developers, manufacturers and other tech-savvy people will be able to create their own smart appliances. If a smart product is particularly attractive to users, then OORT will look for an opportunity to launch that product as well.

Tell us a bit about the company’s founders like their professional or industry background and the origins of the founding idea.

I started my first business at the age of 17 selling electronic components and computer hardware. I become more and more addicted to new technologies. I founded, co-founded or scaled up a handful of successful companies such as largest Polish online and offline gold trader, which within two years broke a decades-long monopoly on the local market. Another of my ventures was a leading interactive agency which was ranked 7th on the market after only three years. My interest in technology-related projects finally enabled me to fund my own company, OORT.

Why did you choose to develop a smart home system that is based on Bluetooth while most of the industry is banking on Wi-Fi or protocols like ZigBee or HomeMatic? How do you handle the fact that Bluetooth only works within rather short ranges?

We decided to deliver a smart home system exclusively based on Bluetooth Smart technology because of its compatibility. That’s why it easily integrates with both OORT devices and third-party devices that are Bluetooth Smart-compatible. Despite this, users are not locked into only purchasing our products. Moreover, thanks to Bluetooth the system will be able to interact with all Bluetooth Smart devices using standard GATT profiles. That’s why OORT is really flexible; users can create a personalized ecosystem with a tailored experience to fit their lifestyle.

Then there is the energy efficiency of Bluetooth Smart. And finally, when it comes to the range, it’s quite extendible, I would say. Thanks to our OORT SmartHub, users can control their environment via any smartphone which has access to the Internet via a Web browser – which is basically anywhere in the world.

See OORT live on the CODE_n Stage on Thursday, 19.03.2015.