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Your connected home could one day save your life
Consider this scenario: Randall is an elderly man living alone. He's doing pretty well -- until one day he has a mild stroke. In the weeks that follow, he's not as active as usual, getting up later and not leaving the house. Motion detectors, a mattress sensor and a smart door lock in his home detect the change in his activity patterns. Randall's daughter gets a message prompted by her father's activity data in the cloud, checks in on him and takes him to the doctor. Once he's received treatment, Randall returns home, with marching orders to equip his home with additional sensors and cameras that can track his health and upload information to the cloud for his doctor to monitor.
Piper packs security cam, home automation hub into one slick package
Webcams were one of the forerunners of the current Internet of Things boom, allowing smartphone-toting geeks to keep an eye on the office or homestead while out and about. Piper (starting at US$239), powered by iControl Networks, is targeted at the homeowner who wants a solution that provides both visually- and physically-based security by combining a security camera, Z-Wave home automation hub, and an iOS app into one nice-looking package. Let's take a look. Design Highlights My first thought when I pulled the Piper out of the box was that it should come in yellow so it could look like one of the minions in Despicable Me. There's a big "eye" on the upper front of the unit, which has a curvaceous eye-shaped cross section as well. The unit is about 6.25 inches (15.88 cm) tall, about 2 inches (5.08 cm) thick and about 3.5 inches (8.89 cm) wide. It comes in either white or black, with a perforated gray plastic piece on top. Piper is much more than just a webcam, although the big fisheye lens on the front provides some wonderful home monitoring functions we'll talk about in the next section. Piper also monitors inside temperature, humidity, brightness, sound level, and motion in your home. And to top it off, it is also a home automation hub for Z-Wave-based sensors, switches, and other home automation devices. I like the aesthetics of the Piper; having a few of these around a house (more about that later) can literally keep an eye on your house and form a mesh network to extend coverage to far corners of the place, while fitting into your decor like a piece of modern sculpture. Functionality Highlights Setup of Piper is very simple. You pop some backup AA batteries into it, plug it in, wait for an LED on the front to blink amber, then double-tap the power button on the back of the unit to make that LED turn blue. Next, you connect your iOS device to the Piper Wi-Fi network, fire up the Piper app, and the app transfers your Wi-Fi settings to the device. At that point, you can start using the app to monitor your surroundings. The app ties into your device through a secure account and opens to a simple, clean dashboard. In the center top of the app is a circle divided into four quadrants. The quadrant marked with an "X" indicates that the system is "off" -- nothing is currently being actively monitored as the system is not armed. Another quadrant is marked with a small house icon, which when tapped puts the device into "Stay" mode. The light on the front of the Piper turns red, and a voice intones "Stay mode activated". A note about modes -- each mode has a set of rules associated with it. For example, when in Stay mode, I'd probably want nothing to happen when I'm walking around the house so my default setting was to turn off video recording, notifications, the siren (yes, there's one built in), and turn on a particular light in the house. Away mode is used when you're heading out of your home for a while. The speaker on Piper does a pinging countdown, then tells the empty home that "away mode is activated." I set this mode's rules up so that any motion would set off the siren and send me a text message. To say that the siren is ear-piercing is an understatement -- I have a professionally-installed home security system and the siren for it isn't as loud! It will certainly get the attention of anyone who happens to enter your home while you're away. There's a 15-second delay between motion detection and the alarm going off, so hopefully you remember to disarm the system by tapping the Off mode before you enter your home. The system can record video as a result of sensing a loud noise, motion or a door/window alert. That can be useful when working with police to identify an intruder. The final mode is Vacation mode. Think of it as Away mode with slightly different settings -- for example, I could see using this to notify my "trusted circle" of friends or relatives when I'm gone. As for the home vitals, I like the ability to see all of the readings one on screen with a two day history of all of the vitals. I do have one gripe about the temperature sensor -- there should be a way to adjust the temperature, as the Piper does get warm and that skews the temperature quite a bit. For example, it's currently 66.9°F at my desk where the device is sitting, yet Piper thinks it is 72.6°F. Now a bit about the security camera. The fisheye lens provides a 180° view on a 1080p camera sensor. With the app, it's possible to pan, tilt, and zoom in, without needing to have a slow and power hungry motor to control physical movement. There's also a quad view available that can look at four specific points in the camera's field of view. A new feature that was just added allows you to have a two-way video/audio conversation with a person at your home from your iPhone, which could be helpful if you want to let a contractor into your home while you're away and keep and eye -- and ear -- on them. Another brand new feature provided by Piper is the ability to link a bunch of the units together so that they can all be monitored via the app. The new feature lets you create independent security zones in your home (for example, basement, living room, family room, upstairs) that all work together with the app. It's possible to track movements through each security zone and as the company says, "smoothly step between live camera views to get a total view of your home environment." As for adding Z-Wave devices, it's quite simple. I have a number of Z-Wave door and window sensors and wanted to see if I could get Piper and the app to recognize them. The readily available sensor (although not officially supported by Piper ... yet) was recognized within seconds. Likewise, I could add light switches throughout the house for control by the Piper app. The great thing about a solution like Piper is that it makes home security easy and affordable for anyone without having to pay for expensive monitoring services. For example, the cost of 3 Pipers is $649. While that sounds expensive, most home security companies charge a similar amount for installation of a system as well as a monthly fee. In my case, that fee is about $70 per month, so I could bypass the home security company, get a pretty decent security system that would beat the socks off of what I have right now, and be money ahead in less than a year. The company that developed Piper, Blacksumac, was acquired by iControl Networks yesterday. Icontrol Networks provides connected home solutions to most of the major cable (Comcast, Time Warner Cable) and security (ADT) companies, so there's a good possibility that you'll begin to see Piper being offered by your local providers. Conclusion For home security and automation, Piper provides a powerful app-controlled solution that's easy to set up and control. Compared to professionally-installed security systems, Piper is reasonably priced and lets you do the monitoring instead of leaving that job to a nameless person in a call center. Rating: 3-1/2 stars out of 4 stars possible
Xfinity Home Security makes home monitoring and management Comcastic (video)
It looks like Comcast's trial bubble has been something of a success, and now the company is announcing that its Xfinity Home Security Service will be branching out beyond Houston to arm alarms, dim lamps and keep home automation freaks appraised of sports scores in an additional six markets (including Philadelphia, Portland, Jacksonville, Sarasota/Naples, Chattanooga and Nashville). Powered by iControl Networks' Open Home automation and security platform, packages start at $40 a month and feature live video monitoring, lighting and climate control, burglar and fire alarm monitoring, and more -- via touchscreen interface, web portal, and iPhone app. Now you too can put your family's safety in the same hands that bring Gilligan's Island into your home! Video, PR-palooza after the break.
iControl and uControl engage in home automation merger, domestic disputes seem inevitable
Come one, come all -- we're guessing you won't want to miss the most comical business arrangement since the latter part of 2007, when ROK acquired a majority share of Rock. Believe it or not, iControl and uControl have somehow put their selfish ways aside to come together as one, but it's pretty clear who's really in control. The merged company will forge ahead as iControl Networks, leaving u with nothing but fading memories and half a bottle of Jack. In all seriousness, this melding of minds could definitely give the home automation world a boost it's badly in need of; fragmentation and a lack of universal compatibility (not to mention stratospheric pricing) has severely hindered adoption in the consumer universe, and we're hoping that these guys can somehow make ZigBee, Z-Wave and your ZR1 talk to each other sans any hoop jumping. 'Course, we wouldn't expect any sort of quick collaboration -- these two have to get on speaking terms before any magic happens, you know?
iControlPad going into production (again), 3000 units in first run
After a few fits and false starts, the image above shows the iControlPad in what's purported to be its final production form, according to inventor Craig Rothwell's Twitter account. Pricing hasn't been announced yet, and sales are supposed to start sometime in September, but Rothwell says the unit above is the first off the line, and there will be a production run of just 3000 to start. The unit has two sidebar pieces that wrap around the iPhone or iPod touch, and in addition to the extra control buttons on the bottom, the 'pad also has a battery that "doubles the iPhone battery life for gaming." There are shoulder buttons on the back as well. Rothwell says he doesn't ever expect to get Apple's support on the project, but by just switching out the two side pieces, the pad could be adapted for any number of phones, so if the concept takes off, you can probably expect to see an Android version as well. We'll keep an eye out for pricing and other information. It's been a long (long) time coming, but for iPhone gamers who could use a few more buttons in their games, looks like the wait might almost be over. [via Engadget]
Pioneer lowers prices on Elite A/V receivers again, the well-heeled respond with derision
Pioneer is introducing a new batch of Elite A/V receivers aimed at making the line more affordable (if less, well, elite). The VSX-30 and VSX-31 feature iPhone and iPod control via Pioneer's iControl AV app, HDMI 1.4a with 3D support, THX Select2 Plus audio, and an Ethernet port for accessing Sirius XM, Rhapsody, and files off of your home network. If that weren't enough, they've even thrown in an composite video cable for your iPod / iPhone so you can enjoy your portable audio and video on the big screen. The VSX-30 will run you $550, while the VSX-31 (with a second A/V zone) is going for a cool $650. It's not exactly a Swarovski-bejewled HTPC, but we guess it'll do in a pinch.
iPhone roundup: iTunes remote, Apple ready for real software in the App Store
Who would've thought that rumored iControl app would not only turn out to be real, but survive the inevitable internal politics, delays, and feature cutbacks to make it all the way through to a summer release? Sure enough, iTunes 7.7 has been pushed out to developers in the past several hours, and the installer encourages iPhone and iPod touch owners to "use the new Remote application for iPhone or iPod touch to control iTunes playback from anywhere in your home -- a free download from the App Store." No further details are given -- and it's not clear whether the "iControl" name seen earlier has been scrapped altogether -- but we can guess that it'll use WiFi to hook up with your mainframe, which really makes the idea of an AirPort Express appealing all over again.On another note, Apple has released Beta 8 of the iPhone SDK and is using the occasion to kick off acceptances of applications to the real, live App Store in preparation for its July 11 launch. It appears that Beta 8 is actually required to complete the process, so don't go jumping the gun now -- goodness knows the rest of the iPhone-toting world doesn't want your half-baked apps in a couple weeks, you shady developer, you.Read - iPhone / iTunes Remote appRead - Applications to App Store now being accepted
Rumors: Apple working on iTunes controller for iPhone
An anonymous tipster tells TUAW that according to code found in the latest firmware release, Apple is working on a new iPhone application called iControl. Like Apple TV and other remote controllers, it would allow the iPhone to connect wirelessly to local iTunes libraries and browse through and play media from those sources. TUAW is told that a media navigator will allow you to view videos, play podcasts, listen to music and even support shuffle playback. The screenshot shown here shows some of the localizable strings for the iPhone-based application. There's obviously no timeline for release, but since the SDK event back in February, it's been rumored that Apple would release some official iPhone apps of their own, and iControl might be the first.Update: The data is so thin on the ground that it's hard to respond to readers who have asked whether this will be a "Back to my iTunes" application. Just having local Bonjour support wouldn't be all that useful. Apparently a screenshot of the bundle (not apparently a real application) here
Timex rolls out Ironman iControl watch
We heard it was coming, then we knew it was coming, but Timex has now finally gotten all official with its iPod-controlling Ironman iControl watch. As has already been revealed, the watch uses an RF transmitter to let you control all the basic functions of your iPod (or iPhone in airplane mode), which'll let you keep it safely tucked away during your workout (or other less athletic activities). Otherwise, you'll get some fairly standard sport watch features, including a 50-lap memory recall chronograph, a training log, various timers and alarms and, of course, Indiglo backlighting. You'll also get your choice of gray/black, pink, blue, orange or green color schemes, with each setting you back $125.
Timex's iPod-controlling i-Control watch hits the FCC
Chalk another one up to the rumor mill, as it looks like the leaked PowerPoint slide we saw just last month was indeed referring to an actual product. Thanks to an FCC filing, we now know that Timex is actually cranking out a Made for iPod timepiece in its Ironman series. The i-Control isn't the most handsome of watches, but it will be available in a water-resistant casing, sport Indiglo backlighting, and play nice with your dock connecting iPod. According to the documentation, users will clip an included RF transmitter into their Pod, which will allow the watch to control the volume, track, and play / pause function so long as the it's within "about ten feet" of your wrist. Of course, it still sports the same alarm, chrono, recall, and interval timer modes as the rest of its siblings, but unfortunately, it doesn't look like you'll see any scrolling track tags on this one. As expected, there's no word on price just yet, but click on through for a more detailed shot of it all sprawled out.
