The ZigBee Alliance has announced the ratification of the ZigBee Remote Control 2.0 standard for smart home remote control using fast, reliable radio frequency technology.
A growing number of household and building operations can be managed via the Internet. Today’s smart homes and smart buildings promise convenient, efficient building management. But often these systems are not secure. Scientists are working on a software product that defends against hacker attacks before they reach the building.
Yesterday’s thermostats allowed a user to increase or decrease indoor temperature on site. Today’s units are much more sophisticated, allowing operators to adjust temperature, humidity, and a number of other variables from anywhere in the world. Additionally, some devices can intelligently learn a user’s schedule, and more.
Nest Labs Inc. announced today the addition of Control4, Crestron®, Remote Technologies Inc. (RTI), and Universal Remote Control (URC) — along with Dropcam — to the increasing number of products, apps, and services that work with Nest products.
A new smart home study released by Lowe’s found that more than 70 percent of smart phone users in America just wish they could control something in their home from their mobile device without getting out of bed. Lowe’s 2014 Smart Home Survey examined Americans’ attitudes and experiences with home automation.
Direct Energy, one of the largest retail providers of electricity, natural gas, and home services in North America, has launched a partnership with SmartThings to bring the smart home to energy customers in Texas.
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire SmartThings, a leading open platform for the smart home. Samsung said that, with its resources, SmartThings will be able to expand its platform and support even more devices.
In only a few years, the number of connected “smart” products for the home has increased exponentially as homeowners have shown more and more interest in being able to monitor and control their homes from nearly anywhere.
The home automation market is growing globally at an incredible pace. The prevalence of these products can be seen with a quick trip to the hardware store, where anyone can find an array of Wi-Fi-capable home automation products, including thermostats, door locks, lights, video cameras, and more.
In June, Microsoft Corp. and American Family Insurance announced the launch of a business accelerator for tech startup companies that are focused on home automation. The goal of the Microsoft Ventures Accelerator is to provide mentorship, resources, and workspace to startups.