The Sphero Force Band can now control your smart home

The official Force Band accessory is the most Jedi-like way of controlling the Sphero BB-8 toy, and now its maker has added some extra functionality to the wearable that gives you even more power from your wrist.

The Force Band now plugs straight into the IFTTT (If This Then That) platform, which means you can use it to control all kinds of smart home kit, from Philips Hue lights to Belkin's automatic power switches.

In fact you can use the Force Band IFTTT functionality to link it to all kinds of services, from Gmail to Twitter, but it's perhaps the smart home controls that make the most sense. IFTTT has published a few example applets on the channel page.

The Force Band awakens

Sphero has put together a new video for the occasion, demonstrating how you can use the wearable together with IFTTT to act like a Jedi in your own home - by switching on the smart coffee maker, for example. Chewbacca outfit optional.

The Force Band accessory was only released a couple of months ago but there's now another reason for BB-8 owners to shell out the $79.99/€89.99/£69.99/AU$139.99 required. It can control the Sphero Ollie and SPRK+ bots as well.

If you've yet to discover the wonders of IFTTT, then we'd recommend digging in and having a look - the site and its associated mobile apps let you link all kinds of different apps and services together for free.

David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.