HomeAutomation -- Engadget

HomeAutomation posts

Kwikset finally adds remote locking functionality to door locks

by Darren Murph posted Sep 12th 2009 at 1:07PM

Kwikset's SmartKey line of wares have been lacking in intelligence for quite awhile, but at long last, the outfit has finally added a pivotal feature here at CEDIA: true remote locking and unlocking. The new remote access control solution is being dubbed SmartCode with Home Connect -- an unnecessarily lengthy way of explaining how the company's keyless locks can now communicate wirelessly with other devices. Users can also check-in on door lock status when they aren't automatically arming / disarming, and you can initiate customized scenes upon entrance and exit in order to more accurately pretend that you're Prince. There's no mention of pricing, but given that you'll need to hit up a Control4 retailer to get your hands on this puissant technology, we'd recommend bringing the bank.

Update: The MSRP is set at $349.

Crestron's Prodigy Home Control System gets prices, specs

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Aug 3rd 2009 at 1:13PM

Heads up, home automation fanatics: It seems that the CEDIA folks have got the inside scoop on Crestron's new Prodigy Home Control System -- and have been kind enough to share their hard won knowledge with us. A lower-cost system aimed at the mass market, this guy features a ZigBee-compatible controller with remote, a SideShow-combatible in-wall touch panel for all of your fave widgets, and the usual control switches, dimmers, and thermostats. The system starts at around $825 for the PMC2 controller (up to 100 wireless devices), PLX2 remote, and P-MNETGW wireless gateway. Or you can just bite the bullet and go for the sample system which includes the above, four zones of audio, one thermostat, 15 wireless light dimmers/switches, and the in-wall touchscreen for about $5,500. Or, if none of the above appeal to you, you can just turn off your own lights. Be sure to check out those glamor shots in the gallery below.

Gallery: Crestron's Prodigy Home Control System gets prices, specs

Touch Revolution's household Android devices coming this year -- it's Hammer time!

by Thomas Ricker posted Jul 23rd 2009 at 8:58AM

When a former Apple product engineer mixes up some Google-juice with MC Hammer you'd be surprised at what you get. If you guessed a range of household Android devices sporting 4.3- to 10-inch touchscreens, WiFi, and Ethernet connectivity well, that would be weird... but you'd be right. Mark Hamblin, the founder and CEO of Touch Revolution who claims to have worked on the iPhone and iPod touch, breaks down the Touch Revolution product family into three major categories: 1) home control to manage lights, security, heating and ventilation, 2) media control for the TV, stereo, and DVR programming, and 3) home-based smartphones like the NIMble we played with at CES. The first Touch Revolution modules will launch later this year inside a range of devices that can be hand-held, placed on a tabletop, or even embedded in a wall. While not naming names, Hamblin says that the hardware and software will be customized and sold by "companies with major brands" before the end of the year in the "US and elsewhere." As for Hammer, that's hard to say -- but we'd buy pretty much anything he'd like to officially endorse.

InterHome learns from inhabitants, adapts to save energy

by Darren Murph posted Jul 6th 2009 at 7:59AM

We've seen all sorts of devices that learn over time, though most of them fall into the humanoid category. Now, a team of gurus over in the UK has developed an entire home that can learn from those dwelling in it and react in order to curb energy waste and even prevent unauthorized entry. InterHome, a model designed by researchers at the University of Hertfordshire, is scheduled to be unveiled at the Microsoft Imagine Cup finals, and it should make other home automation systems look rather antediluvian in comparison. By sensing how the owner(s) like their climate and such, it can reportedly save up to £300 a year in energy costs alone. Furthermore, it can "take decisive action and text if it is being burgled or the door has been left unlocked," and the whole system can be monitored remotely and controlled via the web. Too bad we're terrified that it could one day turn on the owner and refuse to allow entry to anyone other than leaders of The Resistance, but other than that, it sounds pretty nifty.

ZigBee Alliances developing Green Power standards for energy harvesting devices

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Jun 29th 2009 at 2:13PM

Home automation industry folks, heads up: the ZigBee Alliance has announced the development of a Green Power feature set, which is the first step in creating a global standard technology for energy harvesting devices. When it becomes available sometime at the end of 2009, you and your fellow ZigBee Alliance members will finally be able to create and market self-powered whatsits that communicate on ZigBee and ZigBee PRO networks. Here's hoping that NEC takes full advantage of this for the next iteration of its award-winning Carbon Ball game! Full PR after the break.

Continue reading ZigBee Alliances developing Green Power standards for energy harvesting devices

Savant's new Rosie Virtual Control uses your home for the interface, your car to impress girls

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Jun 12th 2009 at 1:44AM

Home automation fans, head's up: Savant is cooking up a new Rosie control interface that replaces traditional menus and icons with actual 360 degree photos of your location. Users turn on a light, f'rinstance, by touching the light that they want to activate, and control the dimmer switch by swiping up or down. The heart of the system is a rather familiar-looking 9-inch capacitive touchscreen device that displays the current location on the majority of the screen, with the other rooms scrolling across the bottom. Currently being pimped by the company at its Dealer Conference in Hyannis, there is no word on release date or cost, but we're guessing it's gonna be rather pricey -- the service includes a visit by the company's Professional Services Division, who photograph your home for you. Just make sure you straighten up a bit before they arrive. See the thing in the action after the break.

Continue reading Savant's new Rosie Virtual Control uses your home for the interface, your car to impress girls

Sharp's remote controlled LED light-bulbs generate seven-shades of smart

by Thomas Ricker posted Jun 11th 2009 at 3:18AM

While you're replacing your household incandescent light-bulbs with LEDs in a bid to save energy and possibly cash (over the 40,000-hour lifespan) you might want to consider these remote-controlled lamps from Sharp. The DL-L60AV gives you on/off and dimming functions as well as the ability to adjust the light in seven shades of white to warm up or cool down the glow. Best of all, they screw into a standard E26 socket for a one-to-one exchange with your existing ocean warmers. The features of the remote control are still unclear (lighting zone support, range of operation, etc.) but it appears to work with multiple-lamps in parallel which is a nice touch. However, we'd like to see Sharp integrate a Z-Wave or ZigBee chipset so we could link these directly (without special wall-switches) into a tricked-out home automation and power managment system. The DL-series start at ¥3880 (about $40) for simple LED lights before hitting ¥7980 (about $82) for the fully-equipped DL-L60AV and begin shipping July 15th in Japan.

Nokia spins off Home Control Center team as There Corporation, slips product into 2010

by Thomas Ricker posted May 28th 2009 at 8:51AM

Remember Nokia's Home Control Center launched in December with plans to send home automation product to retail by the end of 2009. Well, it's been upended today with Nokia bowing out of its own smart home activities and licensing the technology to the independent There Corporation -- a company that now employs Nokia's former Smart Home team. Unfortunately, we're now looking at the beginning of 2010 before we see the first solution dubbed Safety 360; a "security kit" for monitoring fire and water leakage alarms, intrusion detection, and energy consumption monitoring through the use of the Home Control Center device (pictured right), door/window sensors, motion, flood, and smoke detectors, and a "Binary Switch with electricity meter"... whatever that is. You know, at this point, we'd be happy for a big name consumer electronics company to sweep in, set a de facto standard, and kick the dozen or so proprietary and so-called "industry standards" to the curb so that we can finally take home automation mainstream. Maybe that'll be Z-Wave which is the only home automation communication standard listed under the device specs for ~~Nokia's~~ There's Home Control Center. The promise of the ubiquitous automated home has been floundering for decades now -- enough's enough.

Video: iHouse SmartFaucet with face recognition is more smug than smart

by Thomas Ricker posted Apr 21st 2009 at 5:59AM

Ready for the ultimate in convergence overkill? Meet the SmartFaucet from iHouse; a tap with built-in face recognition technology that automatically adjusts the water pressure and temperature to your preferred settings. The touchscreen display even features widgets for at-a-glance access to eMail, appointments, and the outside temperature while LEDs illuminate the flow with temperature matching colors. iHouse's Fadec (pictured after the break) also adds face recognition to a 2.8-inch in-house remote control. That little trick allows the remote to respond to pre-programmed scenes (think AC, lighting, audio) customized by inhabitant. Too much? Never.

[Via BornRich]

Continue reading Video: iHouse SmartFaucet with face recognition is more smug than smart

Mac-friendly Houseport USB To Z-Wave adapter shipping soon en masse

by Darren Murph posted Mar 29th 2009 at 6:51PM

For those that don't visit Fry's Electronics on any regular basis, you probably reckoned that Wayne Dalton's totally promising USB To Z-Wave adapter had simply failed to ever make it onto store shelves after being launched 14 months ago. Turns out, the device (and the OS X-friendly Houseport software) has just been loosed from its limiting "Fry's exclusive" agreement, and it's about to ship out to anyone who desires it starting June 1st. We're told that the hardware and software hasn't changed since CES 2008, and even the retail price ($87) will remain the same. Of note, eager beavers can snag a limited number of upgradeable pre-production units today for $79, but then again, you never really know what you're going to get. Hang tight, Mac-owing home automators -- your long-awaited solution is nearly here.

Is Verizon planning a Z-Wave home automation system?

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Mar 20th 2009 at 7:01PM

As home automation starts building up steam it looks like Verizon might be giving Nokia's to-be-released Home Control Center a little run for its money. According to CE Pro, FCC documentation has been found describing something called the Verizon Home Monitoring Gateway and Home Monitor Service. Apparently based on technology from 4Home, the Z-Wave compliant system uses a Westell-branded Control Point gateway featuring Internet connectivity and automation capabilities. The site also describes widgets for controlling surveillance cameras and various room modes, such as "Home," "Away" or "Movie Time!" Devices can be accessed and functions scheduled either through a web browser or directly from Verizon mobile phones equipped with a "4Home" button. Neither Verizon nor 4Home have yet commented on any of this, but we're keeping our eyes peeled.

Ecobee's eco-saving, WiFi-enabled Smart Thermostat now available for order

by Ross Miller posted Jan 30th 2009 at 6:24AM

When we first heard about Ecobee's Smart Thermostat last October, it claimed the device could recoup its $385 price tag within the first 12 to 18 months of use. Whether or not that's the case, you can now find out for yourself. The WiFi-enabled home automation tool, complete with ZigBee expansion slots, is now available to order online from the company's website. The upfront cost includes the $35 access fee for first year of use. Now how long must we wait until someone throws an emulator on this thing?

DIY home automation system brings back the lost art of flashlight control

by Donald Melanson posted Dec 30th 2008 at 4:03PM

ZigBee and other home automation technologies may be all well and good if you want to keep things practical and whatnot, but if you're the more adventuresome type, you may want to take after Instructables member leevonk, who's pieced together this slightly unwieldy contraption. At the heart of the system is a webcam, a flashlight, and some photoresistors that detect changes in brightness on the screen they're so elegantly affixed to. To change that brightness, you simply shine the flashlight at the area the webcam is pointed to, which relays the image back to the aforementioned PC via Yahoo Messenger which, in turn, activates a series of motors that can be used to perform a variety of tasks. Practical? Not exactly. But it is inexpensive, and it sure is more fun than a couple of mouse clicks. Head on past the break to check it out in action.

[Via Hacked Gadgets]

Continue reading DIY home automation system brings back the lost art of flashlight control

Nokia's Z-Wave Home Control Center hands-on and video

by Joshua Topolsky posted Dec 2nd 2008 at 12:28PM

Since hearing about Nokia's foray into the world of home automation, our curiosity has been seriously piqued. Thankfully, our girl-on-the-scene Drita has captured video of the new software / hardware combo in action on the Nokia World show floor. It looks like a fully decked out system is going to run you a hefty fee (given all the components required), but can you put a price on the extreme laziness it will enable? We didn't think so. Check out the thrilling video out after the break!

Gallery: Nokia's Z-Wave Home Control Center hands-on and video

[Via Engadget Spanish]

Continue reading Nokia's Z-Wave Home Control Center hands-on and video

Nokia launching Z-Wave Home Control Center next year

by Thomas Ricker posted Nov 27th 2008 at 4:54AM

Who doesn't long for a smart home system that gives you full control of your thermostat, lighting, AV, and security system from the convenience of your cellphone? While many proprietary and "standards-based" off-the-shelf solutions exist, things quickly break down due to the lack of interoperability, cost, or sheer complexity of medium-to-large home automation designs. Enter Nokia who just announced its Home Control Center, a platform open for third parties to develop "plug and play" solutions, all of which can be controlled via your phone or PC from both inside and outside the home. HCC will let home owners switch devices on and off as they monitor and control their electricity usage while providing access to objects such as temperature sensors, cameras, and motion detectors. Ultimately it will integrate more complex systems like security, heating, and ventilation. Although few technical details were provided, a research paper from last year that outlined Nokia's Smart Home strategy called for a 802.11n WiFi home gateway device (presumably from Nokia) with optional GSM/GPRS module integrating into a home network of Z-Wave and ZigBee-compliant devices. The system is expected to include pre-packaged Smart Home kits ranging from starter, security, energy, and baby monitoring when it goes retail (Europe first) by the end of 2009.

Update: Good news, remote access only requires a web browser. As such, you can use any cellphone with a decent browser to manage your home remotely.

Read -- Press Release
Read -- Product brief [Warning: PDF]
Read -- Research paper [Warning: PDF]