Cloud-based microphone Listnr will revolutionise any smart home, allowing you to set sound triggers to control any connected device in your house.

For example, if you have the Philips Hue lighting system set up in your home, you can set up the Listnr to trigger a certain ambiance when you click your fingers.

Listnr can also associate certain sounds with emotion and send a message to your smartphone. If your baby is crying in distress, it can recognise this and send an alert to your smartphone, but if your baby is happy and is laughing, it can reassure you that your child is happy.

The unit itself features a coloured LED that changes according to the alert or mood of the sound it hears.

Listnr is fully programmable, so if you’re a developer, you can create your own applications for the device, whether you want it to listen out for your front door opening, a certain music track or any other sound that could be generated in your home.

The Japanese company behind Listnr says: “All living things recognize their environment by sound, and communicate with it. We wanted to build something using sound to enrich and delight our lives.”

The company has worked with Panasonic to develop the sound engine behind Listnr and exhibited at the CES technology show in Las Vegas back in January.

The Listnr can be purchased from Kickstarter as an early bird deal for $99 (£65) and will be available from August, while the second round unit can be purchased for $119 (£77) and will ship in September. You can also get your hands on a limited edition Azzurra unit for $129 (£84), grey for $139 (£90) or two devices for $199 (£130).

Rie Ehara, Co-Founder of the company says: “My passion is connecting people with common interests, working on the frontier of technology. I’m looking forward to seeing what the world can do with Listnr.”