With most dwellings boasting a wide variety of devices and home fixtures that communicate in different ways, outfitting a home with connectivity can be a messy affair. Since the dawn of the IoT movement, smart hubs have sprung up offering to standardize the hassle — some more successfully than others.
One that seems to have the right idea is Ezcontrol. While it isn’t an entirely new idea, its dedication to a simple premise — a smart hub that communicates using Wi-Fi, infrared, and RF waves — makes it a low-cost, straightforward solution. Being that most items in the home communicate with one of those three standards, everything from the connected fridge to the air conditioner to the garage door can all be controlled using a single companion app preloaded with compatibility with over 5,000 devices.
For whatever it can’t control, Ezontrol employs a learning feature to assimilate new functions. Users can control devices remotely, set timers, and cue up scenes for a smoother smart home experience. Backers pledging $69 will get a triangular Ezcontrol hub by June 2016. Its Kickstarter campaign is looking for $10,000 by May 31st, 2016 to see success.
Simplicity is key to the Ezcontrol’s appeal: it’s built for those wading into the convoluted world of IoT and serves as the antithesis to smart home solutions that are slightly more involved. The xRemote offers just as much functionality as Ezcontrol and them some — GPS tracking to warm up a home in anticipation a user’s return, for instance — but forces multiple purchases for added range versus the former’s 360° infrared capabilities. In the end, though, pure design could win above all else: the Sense’s integration of infrared and deep learning functionality into a svelte and luxurious package makes it hard to forget about.