On Air - Building a Smart Status Light to Stay Focused

It started with a simple problem: interruptions. Like many people, I’ve struggled to stay productive while working from home. Whether it was a roommate popping in during a meeting or family members not realizing I was trying to concentrate, I found myself needing a better way to communicate “I’m busy.”

The Idea

The concept was pretty straightforward: a small light that anyone could use to show when they’re busy, available, or need some quiet time. But I wanted to take it a step further. Instead of just being a “red light/green light” system, I thought:

• Why not make it smart?
• Why not integrate it with tools people already use, like Teams, Zoom, or Slack?

What On Air Does

On Air is essentially a connected status indicator, but it’s packed with features to make it flexible and useful:

• Customizable Colors and Patterns: You can set up the colors and animations that work for you—whether it’s a steady red light for “Do Not Disturb”, green for “I’m available”, or yellow for “My meeting ends soon.”
• App and Calendar Syncing: The light can automatically update based on your meeting schedule or even your status in tools like Microsoft Teams.
• Voice Assistant Integration: You can change your status hands-free with Alexa or Google Assistant.
• Smart Automations: The light can adapt to your environment. For example, it dims in the evening or changes based on triggers you set.

Building the Project

I learned a lot while building this. The biggest challenge was getting it to integrate seamlessly with all the tools people use—everyone has their own workflow, and On Air needed to fit into as many as possible. We also had to make sure it was easy to use right out of the box while still offering advanced features for power users.

The hardware itself went through several iterations to get the size, brightness, and design just right. I wanted it to look clean and modern—something that could sit on a desk without feeling out of place.

What’s Next

There are so many possibilities for where this project could go. Some ideas I’m excited about:

• Adding more platform integrations for things like Zoom Room systems or gaming setups.
• Expanding environmental awareness, like automatically adjusting brightness based on room lighting.
• Creating specialized modes for different use cases, like “focus” sessions or parental controls.

Why It Matters

Ultimately, I hope On Air makes it a little easier to carve out focus time in an increasingly noisy world. Whether you’re working, studying, or streaming, it’s a simple tool to help others respect your time and space.