Category: Smart Home

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Smart Home Technology

Linkio offers affordable home automation solution

Mobile home automation systems offer the undeniably appealing ability to turn off your appliances and other electronic devices when you forgot to shut them before leaving the house from anywhere. French newcomer Linkio is yet the latest company to enter the growing category with an affordable and simple solution.

The company isn’t shy about celebrating native language with the system’s components. The main component of the white Linkio system is “Le Hub,” a central control unit resembling a router that communicates with the rest of the Linkio system and wirelessly links the user’s mobile phone to their electronics in conjunction with “Le Remote,” a remote infrared controller that looks somewhat like a typical smoke detector. A separate “Le Plug” connector allows any electronic device that it’s plugged into to be turned on or off via a free mobile app. Also part of the system is “Le Switch,” a component designed to replace mechanical wall switches that enables lights and ceiling fans to be controlled manually and through the app. The targeted price of a full Linkio system package is €99 (~$123), and it includes one each of the Linkio components.

Linkio’s system is targeted at consumers who aren’t interested in buying an entire smart home ecosystem, but instead want the ability to control just a few of their electronic devices from outside the home. Linkio will also sell plugs individually at €19 (~$24) each. The company’s Kickstarter goal is to raise €50,000 (~$60,000), in order to mass produce the finalized versions of the Linkio components. Linkio expects electrical design optimization to be finished in January and for the finalized product to follow in October.

There’s been similar home automation system concepts before. The Webee smart home system is just one of many competing products to seek crowdfunding. Belkin’s WeMo Switch, meanwhile, is a competing product that’s already widely available. An advantage that Linkio has over some of its rivals is that it’s an independent system that requires no server dependency. Also, unlike at least some rival devices, Linkio supports Windows Phone in addition to the more ubiquitous iOS and Android. But the home automation category is just too crowded to expect Linkio will become a major mass-market consumer product.

 

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Smart Home

HUUM portable security system keeps you humming along without a worry

More and more, security systems are coming into their own in this new era of connected technologies, fitting into smaller packages and accomplishing as much or even more than they ever have. The HUUM is another addition in this space, offering a portable security system with a diverse array of features to keep users safe with minimal effort.

The HUUM is as small as a pencil case, but packs motion tracking, temperature monitoring, flood detection, and location tracking within. And since it’s portable, its possible uses aren’t limited to just the home. Although the system is compatible with both iOS and Android devices, the latter is able to utilize NFC tapping technology to easily activate or deactivate your alarms, change settings, or set up new devices, eliminating the need to input codes or any other form of authentication. In addition, multiple smartphones can be connected to a single system to keep everyone informed on an open window on a rainy day or even intrusions, all without monthly fees. The campaign is looking for $20,000 CAD (~$14,500 USD) to get the $89 CAD (~$77 USD) device out to backers by March 2015.

The HUUM works over Wi-Fi and, while that affords it impressive range, it’s also a drawback in that if something is wrong with the connection, it won’t be as effective. Other products, like the Canary and the WataSensor, are similarly handicapped but offer more features than the HUUM. The HUUM’s portability and size are its prime traits and its price compared to other similar systems sweetens the deal.

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Smart Home

EZ Wand has the magic touch to motorize blinds

One part of the home that has unceremoniously been ignored by smart home fever is the window blind. As such, automating them is an involved process that usually costs home owners lots of time and money to properly do. The EZ Wand makes the entire process as simple as replacing the wand on horizontal or vertical window blinds. When that’s done, the supplied remote control can control up to eight different wands either individually or in groups, making what used to be an annoyance as easy as a button press.

With the EZ Wand as easy to install as it is, it makes for a low-cost no-brainer for most home owners who are looking for this sort of thing. The 4 AAA required powers the wand for nine months while the remote for two years at a distance of up to 45 feet away, a fact that would make it pretty versatile were it not for its lack of color options. Unfortunately, the EZ Wand is limited in what kind of blinds it can control and doesn’t feature smartphone interaction. Other types of blinds can be outfitted with the ShutterEaze or Tilt My Blinds instead. In any case, $59 gets backers one wand and a remote, with an estimated delivery date of December 2014. The company behind the campaign is looking for $35,000 to make this product a reality.

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Smart Home

Channel your inner Joaquin Phoenix with Cubic AI assistant

Movies like “Iron Man” and “Her” have posited the idea of digital AIs that exist beyond the borders of their physical confines. They present a conception of technology where we could command these systems to do things for us, whether it be to set up a room to the user’s liking to simply ordering some pizza. With each passing year, what was once incredibly far-fetched technology has become more and more commonplace, and the team behind the Cubic has stuffed it all in a box and mix it in with lots of smarts.

The Cubic is a humble looking, Wi-Fi enabled box that houses a personal AI bursting with intelligence and charm. Its multi-topic conversational system allows users to naturally respond to jokes, news, text messages, and phone calls. From the current weather and traffic time in the morning, keeping users up-to-date with emails and news throughout the day, or preparing a user’s home by controlling connected home automation devices on their way back, Cubic is incredibly versatile and presented to be effortless to use.

The device boasts a 25ft range of voice recognition at home but Cubic doesn’t end when users leave: a wearable Power Badge takes Cubic with you so that users can constantly stay informed and have total control over apps like Dropbox and Facebook with or without headphones. It can also learn: Cubic will adapt to a user’s humor, and users can teach Cubic to critique movies and even differentiate types of liquors. The $195 Cubic is expected to be delivered by November 2015 provided the campaign reaches its $100,000 goal.

The Cubic bears a more than passing resemblance to Ubi and Amazon’s Echo, but is looking to provide more than a home-based, voice-controlled device but rather an AI assistant that can be of help all day. It’s hard to believe the Cubic works as well as it’s being presented, though, as many companies have been trying to nail down voice recognition for years and still have trouble recognizing basic phrases. Cubic is promising in theory, so it would be a shame if the team behind it dropped the ball.

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Smart Home

Aquanta smart water heater controller quantifies savings

Many Americans are quick to turn off the lights or the air conditioner in an effort to save money on energy bills, but not many think about their water heaters as a culprit. As the second leading consumer of energy in most homes, the water tank is oddly left out of advice found on morning news segments and in About.com articles. With the rising trend in home automation pretty much everywhere, Sunnovations has taken the water heater to task with Aquanta.

The Aquanta is a smart water heater controller that works over Wi-Fi and instantly raises the IQ of the water heater in most people’s basements. The product is able to learn the usage patterns of the tank in question and use the resulting information to automatically control its heating element to best use energy. The option for users to do it themselves is also available as well, an attractive route considering the level of information its companion app provides about every aspect of a home’s energy usage along with the suggestions it offers too. The app also alerts users to malfunctions and leaks to prevent them from getting out of hand. The $99 Aquanta will be on backer’s doorsteps by July 2015 provided Sunnovations meets their $75,000 goal.

The Aquanta is a very polished smart water heater controller when compared to another, more low-tech option in the Jul Bujh. However, its installation is somewhat involved and the product doesn’t work with older, mechanical models of water heaters that may be in the minority but are still owned by many. In that way, the Aquanta is a little too smart, but ultimately a solid option for those with whom this is a good fit.

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Smart Home

Tiny NUZii smart device micro-manages so you don’t have to

By no fault of their own, most of our homes are dumb. As a result, hoards of companies offer all-in-one solutions to take advantage of the opportunities that technology has to offer. Over the years, these smart home hubs have evolved from merely being control points for other connected objects to adding utility themselves. With all those additional features, though, their cost has gone up as well. The NUZii flips this idea on its head by offering a tiny smart device that not only helps automate the home, but also helps make the rest of a user’s life easier.

NUZii is small, really small. At four inches tall, the product is impressively packed with all sorts of functionality that will make most wonder how it’s all possible. The 2MP camera, air and humidity sensors, and Bluetooth connectivity all complement the device’s home automation functions, syncing up to other connected objects, learning the user’s habits, and setting custom profiles depending on the time of day. Apple TVs, Roku streaming boxes, VUE light bulbs, Jawbone activity trackers, and many other popular connected devices are all fair game.

NUZii can also connect to external storage with its two USB ports and, with the help of a Wi-Fi network, users will always have the ability to use that storage however they want from wherever they are with the help of an integrated download manager. NUZii is a triple threat in that it can also connect to your modem and offer VPN and Tor support to provide users with complete anonymity on the Internet, something that is becoming increasingly valuable as time goes on. The device clocks in at just $99, and provided the campaign reaches its $65,000 goal, backers will receive NUZii in June 2015.

NUZii isn’t the first of its kind nor is it the last, but it certainly makes a good impression. Similar products like the pēq, SherloQ, and the Neoji may execute some aspects of the NUZii much more successfully, but none offer its level of versatility, especially for its price or even size. The product’s app store stokes excitement as well, serving up the potential for vastly different uses than what the inventors have intended. Look for the NUZii to make a dent if properly funded.

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Lighting Smart Home

BeON deterrent lighting system allows you to be on alert 24/7

Home security has seen a resurgence in the past few years thanks to how easy it has become to install and use smartphone and tablet-based systems. As such, the ubiquity of low-cost hardware and Bluetooth connectivity along with smart devices have made home monitoring a largely automated experience that relies on video and motion sensing to set off alarms. As effective as these approaches are, most companies have forgotten that deterrence is the first line of defense in protecting the home, an idea the BeON burglary deterrent system is based on.

The one thing common to every household is the humble lightbulb, maybe a little bit too humble. The BeON system takes lightbulbs to task injecting them with smarts that allow a combination of Bluetooth LE, microphone, sound processor, and rechargeable battery to protect your home. The BeON bulbs installs like standard bulbs and simulate a full home when users are gone by learning lighting habits over time. Constantly shifting lights give off the impression of an occupied, so burglars will think twice before trying to break in. Doorbells also activate the lights when users aren’t in, making it seem like someone is stirring within.

Its four-hour backup battery inside allow its lighting and security features to work through a power outage and that, along with its 20 year battery life, ensures a user’s peace of mind. The companion iOS and Android app will also let users enable Away mode, set lighting patterns, or teach BeON to hear their doorbell, all while still softly lighting a home with 60W of power. A three pack of BeON lightbulbs goes for $229 and is expected to ship in April 2015. The campaign is looking for $100,000 to make it happen.

A connected lightbulb isn’t anything new, but the BeON does far more than others like the AirBulb or even Philips Hue. Its modular nature will eventually allow users to add on functionality, which extends its utility. That said, it is pretty wasteful to randomly turn on lights but that won’t be a convincing point for those who treasure their security.

 

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Connected Objects Smart Home Technology

PLAYBULB rainbow light offers energy efficiency, color LED lighting

Consumers looking to save money on their electric bills represent one major audience for the new PLAYBULB rainbow LED light bulb from San Jose company MiPow USA. But the likely smaller base of consumers who want to add color lighting–red, blue, green and white–to their rooms represent another target audience for the product, which is from the same company that made the PLAYBULB color.

Each bulb offers 5 watts at full power with 280 lumens and an estimated 30,000 hours of lifetime performance. That compares to standard incandescent light bulbs that offer comparable lumens, but use up 40 watts of power and only work for a total of about 1,000 hours. A free PLAYBULB X app at the Apple App Store and Google Play can be used to set the timer for when the bulb turns on or off. Users can also select what color they want at any specific time from the color wheel on the app. Backers can get one bulb at $22 in February as part of a super early bird special. That’s $12.99 off the $34.99 retail price. The bulb’s creator set a Kickstarter funding goal of $10,000.

The bulb will likely appeal to many consumers. But it’s questionable whether the average consumer will want to pay more than $30 for one LED bulb, regardless of its energy efficiency, smart functionality and color choices.

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Smart Home

The Room Central Bluetooth controller keeps the temperature just right

The more ubiquitous Bluetooth technology becomes, the more the disparate elements in people’s lives are united so as to be easily controlled. Things all around and outside the home used to be governed by mechanisms needing physical action, but now can be adjusted with simple taps of a button. This technology, along with the sensors that work in tandem with it, allow users a level of control previously unfamiliar.

A good example of that is the Room Central Bluetooth controller. It connects to heaters, coolers, or anything with a mechanical heating or cooling controls (like greenhouses or rice cookers) and relays temperature information to an iOS or Android smartphone. Its companion app allows for scheduling and remote control from up to 25 feet and imparts lots of smarts on previously dumb items in the home. An LED display on the unit itself ensures users won’t need to unlock your phone every time they need to check on temperature, too. The Room Central controller goes for $100 and is expected in March 2015 provided the campaign reaches its $64,900 goal.

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Smart Home

Amphiro b1 smart meter smartens up about showers

Every part of the home seems like a threat to your energy bill. The stove, the air conditioner, and the microwave are villains in the saga of undue energy consumption in our lives. Until now, not having enough information was the biggest problem in this battle. Now, devices like the amphiro a1 exist to provide information about temperature and amount of water used so that users can stay on top of things.

What it doesn’t have, though, is a Bluetooth LE chip to communicate with other devices, a lack their Kickstarter campaign wants to address. The amphiro b1 would be the next version of the flagship product, and its release would coincide with a companion app to take advantage of its new technology. With it, users will be able to compare consumption with others and set goals or alarms. A developer API will allow anyone to tinker around with the product itself, allowing all kinds of interesting applications. And considering that it’s powered by a micro-turbine within that spins with the water flow, the amphiro b1 itself is eco-friendly too. Right now, the product is going for £49 (~$77) and can be expected in May 2015. The campaign’s goal is a cool £20,000 (~$31,300).

Smart metering has become the cure-all for our consumption issues, and the amphiro has already proven successful with its a1 model. It’s b1 iteration with Bluetooth LE capability will only make the device better, but it ultimately seems like baby steps in territory already conquered by a fellow product in the space, the Eva Smart Shower. Eva already does everything the amphiro b1 does and adds a motion sensor alongside more customization, at a higher price point. In any case, more options can only be good, and the amphiro b1 is a solid one.