While running around from place to place each day, it’s common to forget to shut the lights or other electronic devices off at home. It would also be nice to shut those same devices off while one is just too tired to get out of bed.
Switch Bot is a small robotic device that attaches to other devices throughout the home or office and can wirelessly control all their switches and buttons. Control can be done while at the location or remotely using a smartphone or smartwatch.
It’s 2016 and the smart home “revolution” is well underway. Unfortunately, that revolution fizzled out as soon as it started. The problem isn’t a lack of devices — look anywhere online for connected home devices and discover a glut of dual-syllabled hubs and plugs for anything you may need — but rather a lack of standard tying them all together. This was the problem at the very beginning, and it continues to be a problem now.
Mark Van Der Spuy’s VOME home automation system tackles this problem by piggybacking off of iOS. Specifically, Siri and Apple’s foray into home automation with HomeKit. The VOME system itself is comprised of a 4-Way Control Unit that any dumb object can be plugged into, allowing anything from lamps to curtains to coffee machines to be controlled simply by issuing voice commands to Siri.
Outfitting a home or apartment with connected technology seems like a good idea until the simple action of turning on a light means unlocking a smartphone, searching for the connected light’s specific app, launching it – you get the idea. Despite the noble intentions behind connected tech, a lot of them actually end up making what used to be simple tasks way more involved.
Team Gidjit thinks its Gidjit Beacons can help in this regard. Each beacon is a small, disc-like device that can be placed in any room and associated with whatever connected devices are present, like Nest thermostats, Philips Hue lightbulbs, or even Apple TVs. As users move from room to room and in closer proximity to different Gidjit Beacons, the Gidjit iOS app displays a constantly updated list of available devices and services that can be directly controlled, all without having to go on a wild goose hunt every time.
It can be a major drag to face interruptions every time the window blinds need to be adjusted due to glare.
FlipFlic is a solar-powered, energy-saving device that adjusts window blinds based on sunlight, temperature or any schedule that is set via the accompanying app. An iOS app is already available and an Android version will follow soon. The automation device is easy to install. With one click, FlipFlic, which is about the size of a roll of quarters, attaches to window blinds magnetically.
At some point, the connected revolution lost its way and became a Tower of Babel of many incmopatible companies and standards. Zero Energy’s Eco Automation platform not only address the disparate world of these devices exist in, but takes advantage of the information being obtained to automatically monitor and conserve energy in addition to tailoring the connected home around the user’s lifestyle.
Its Eco Technology Bridge is the centerpiece of the platform, pairing nine radio protocols like Z-Wave, Zigbee, Wi-Fi and an array of others with a universal translation engine to make sure they all understand each other—and leaving room for another should another important spring up in the future. The Eco Automation’s Energy Meter connects directly to electricity panels and provides real-time consumption and production reports, going so far as to pick up differences in an HVAC’s power draw to determine when a filter needs to be a changed and offering up preventative maintenance reports for everything else.
Legacy alarm systems often require the use of landlines to function, making them quite the dinosaurs in the age of connected products. By forcing homeowners to keep a landline and offering no flexibility when it comes to all the other devices in most people’s lives, the time is long overdue for something to give.
A portmanteau of Home EVOloution, HEVO is a hub that connects to the BUS of a current alarm system backed by the PATROL proprietary OS. In using PATROL to secure the home, HEVO operates by a tiered system of alarm. When an intruder is detected — even with an unarmed legacy alarm system — HEVO sends an alarm signal through the Internet. Failing that, HEVO’s included GSM subscription service kicks in and sends the alarm that way. If that ends up not working for some reason, real-time monitoring of each HEVO will see the company send the alarm signal themselves. Users are informed of each of these steps with real-time SMS alerts, keeping them up to date no matter what.
Home automation is the healthiest it has ever been, with new products and platforms being produced all the time with the help of crowdfunding platforms. Almost all of them use wireless technology, and that can mean two minuses — a level of electromagnetic radiation that may (or may not) be dangerous and occasional lapses in reliability.
Domomob gets that, and has crafted a home automation solution that controls existing motorized components in the home using powerline communication (PLC) technology — essentially, networking via the electrical wiring in the home. Doing this eliminates all excess electromagnetic emissions without sacrificing versatility: users have the option to install accessories like indoor or outdoor cameras as well as outfit dumb products in the home with plugs that grant them smarts. Access to the home can be shared through an iOS, Android, or Windows app or through a web portal, with original installations working even in the event of an internet outage.
Home security used to be synonymous with pricey hardware and exorbitant maintenance fees. The advent of the Internet of Things has made that a thing of the past, instead using either base stations or the smartphones we all know and love to keep the home safe at a fraction of the cost.
These systems come in many shapes and sizes, but the Wi-Fi-enabled Ivan home security system is the size of a deck of cards. It’s also extremely simple in how it focuses on two main areas: security and IoT integration. Its use of a passive infrared movement detector, or a PiR, ensures that only body heat can trigger alerts sent to predefined family and friends through email, SMS, or Twitter. In an emergency situation, a dedicated panic button also does the same. When all is well, though, Ivan’s IFTTT integration allows users to control any other connected products in the home by using it as a remote control. Ivan is priced at $95 with an expected ship date of February 2016. Goio, the company behind Ivan, is looking for $98,000 before August 12, 2015.
The home security and sensor market is certainly crowded. The addition of Ivan to the mix only serves to make it more so. While its $95 price undercuts competing products like Presence, its lack of connectivity with smartphones and tablets may prove underwhelming for some. More fully featured products include the aforementioned Presence along with the SandboxHome.
The home automation space is filled with products that promise both straightforward setup and ease of use, using the smartphone as the brains behind it all. Some achieve this feat, but require accessories all over the place for the system to work. And if does work, many products wrongly assume the smartphone is the best piece of technology for total control — having to wait for an app to open just to turn on a bulb is inefficient to say the least.
Fantem thinks a smart home should be much easier to set-up, and its Oomi smart home system is the result of that. The system is primarily made up of an Oomi Cube and Oomi Touch. The former is the star of the show, a Wi-Fi and Z-Wave enabled device filled to the brim with all kinds sensors, cameras, and a motion detector all to learn the rhythms of a user’s daily life and react to anything unexpected. The latter is a 7-inch, edge-to-edge glass tablet with physical buttons that makes setting up any part of the connected home as easy as a tap and a touch.
The primary parts of the Oomi system don’t operate by themselves. A few accessories expand the capability of the system and truly make a home connected. A user can turn any outlet into a smart outlet with the Oomi Plug, while the Oomi Multi-Sensor adds the Oomi Cube’s wealth of sensors into any other part of the home. Ambiance is covered by the Oomi Bulb, while entertainment is handled by the Oomi Streamer. This accessory adds both browsing and streaming capabilities to any TV in the home, pushing home alerts to the screen alongside of them.
The Internet of Things is really just a mess of standards trying to operate with each other at this point, leaving the door wide open for in-home solutions to the problem.
The Paigo smart home system is a challenger in this regard, serving as the digital brain to someone’s connected life. The smart home system is a comprehensive solution to connected quandaries. For one, it offers users home automation capabilities with anything in the home that is Z-Wave enabled, along with anything that uses electricity — even if the campaign itself is slightly vague on how exactly it does that.
Home security is another key focus for Paigo, as the system connects itself to equipment such as motion sensors and IP cameras to keep the home safe. For times when the main goal is to relax, the Paigo set-top box can connect to a TV and be used as a media center, browser, or Skype tool. Users can use Paigo’s companion “air mouse” capable remote to facilitate all these actions from afar.
All of Paigo’s capabilities culminate in a product with which users can check in on their home at anytime with a smartphone, tablet, or PC no matter where they are. Scenes can be set to automate devices all at one, either automatically or with a tap of a button. The Paigo Smart Home system will be awarded to backers for $584, and the $107,752 campaign goal is promising the product in December of this year.
The Paigo’s scope is incredibly impressive, but only if its owner has all the necessary equipment to have it truly perform at its most optimal — a huge financial investment if not already set-up. All in all, the campaign is slightly misleading in what it offers, and even vague, at points. In comparison, products like RoomBox and xRemote are clear about the extent to which they can and cannot do things — something backers surely appreciate.