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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

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.

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Palm Pre arrives at the FCC

by Nilay Patel posted May 20th 2009 at 1:14PM

You didn't think Uncle Sam would let Palm launch the Pre without taking a good hard look at some dense SAR reports, did you? Yep, there's a gray suit out there right now just rockin' away in WebOS while you're stuck counting down the days until your KRZR contract expires, and there's nothing you can do about it except pore over the publicly-available data and try and imagine what the Pre's measured RF emissions might feel like while coursing through your body at ear-level. Breathe deep, friends.

Read - Pre filing
Read - Second Pre filing

ZigBee adding IP capabilities to its wireless devices, Texas Instruments likey

by Tim Stevens posted Apr 27th 2009 at 9:34AM

We've seen ZigBee wireless functionality showing up in everything from remote controls to robots, but apparently that was all just the beginning. The Alliance has announced plans to expand its low-power standards to support Internet Protocol, a move that member-company Texas Instruments is apparently quite pleased about -- perhaps seeing an opportunity to make up some of those declining sales in the mobile phone area. IP connectivity in all sorts of random devices should open the door for plenty of exciting and new-fangled connectivity options, all of which can only mean one thing: dung beetle MMO.

NEC turns your home into a carbon-tracking game controller

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Apr 3rd 2009 at 3:27PM

Are you bored with keeping tabs of your carbon emissions? NEC and BIGLOBE have developed a system that not only performs this odious task, but makes it "fun" to do so -- if you're generous as to what constitutes "fun." A WiFi-enabled device is attached to your circuit breaker, where it keeps track of your power consumption and later transmits it to your home computer via ZigBee. The data is then sent to a website, where you can use it to play games against other green households in such thrilling arenas as Carbon Diet (users score "eco-points" with which they can purchase virtual soil, water, flowers and grass) and Carbon Ball, in which Dung Beetles compete to see who can travel the farthest, with distance being determined by -- you guessed it -- how well the user reduces power consumption. But that ain't all -- the system also keeps tabs on daily and hourly energy consumption, your rank in comparison with other households, and more. A three-month trial service is underway in the homes of 100 NEC employees, after which the companies will analyze the data and develop a business model for unloading this bad boy on local governments and the private sector. One more pic after the break.

[Via Pink Tentacle]

Continue reading NEC turns your home into a carbon-tracking game controller

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?

BUG Labs throws down five new BUGmodules, including pico-projector and 3G radio

by Paul Miller posted Jan 7th 2009 at 12:43PM

After about a year of working with its original kit, BUG Labs is going next-gen with five new modules to mix-and-match with its Lego-style DIY BUGbase kit. Most of it is connectivity, with BUG3g for 3G phone / data connectivity; BUGwifi, which does 802.11b/g WiFi and Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR; and BUGbee, a 802.15.4 radio for ZigBee home automation and other "personal area network" fun. On the output front, BUGsound (pictured) provides a 20mm speaker, omnidirectional microphone and four 3.5mm jacks for audio in and out, but we're most stoked about BUGprojector, which uses Texas Instruments' DLP Pico tech to pump out a 480 x 320 image. All of these new modules work with the existing BUGmodules and that recently introduced BUGvonHippel breadboard. No word on price yet, but they should all ship this quarter. We'll have hands-on with all these goodies later this week.

Gallery: BUG Labs throws down five new BUGmodules, including pico-projector and 3G radio

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]

Ecobee debuts energy-saving, WiFi-connected Smart Thermostat

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 15th 2008 at 1:42PM

Sure, you can outfit your whole home with ZigBee-connected home automation devices, but if you're not quite ready to take that plunge in the future, you may want to consider something like Ecobee's new Smart Thermostat, which will give you a taste of home automation and help you save a few bucks in the process. Like some other similar thermostats, this one relies on WiFi to connect to your home network, which should ease installation considerably, and it even includes some optional ZigBee expansion slots in case you do want to integrate it into a more complete home automation setup. At $385 though, the device isn't exactly cheap, but the company says it'll pay for itself in energy cost savings within the first 12 to 18 months. You'll be able to put that claim to the test yourself when the device starts shipping early next year.

Hands-on with Control4 home automation

by Barb Dybwad posted Jan 9th 2008 at 1:28PM

One day we'll all be taking home automation for granted when every new house on the market includes built-in support for controlling our fireplaces via our watch phones, but until that glorious future arrives the home automation noob has a dizzying array of choices to contend with. We checked out what Control4 has to offer in the way of centralized command over your media, home theater, lights, security system and temperature and found fairly clean, easy to use interfaces coupled with an array of choices for central control and storage depending on the scope of your needs, all compliant with the lovably-named ZigBee wireless standard. Hit the gallery for an overview of Control4 devices and configurations including their Home Controller HC-300 we heard about earlier this year.

Gallery: Hands-on with Control4 home automation

Digi's XBee Wall Router expands ZigBee network range

by Darren Murph posted Dec 11th 2007 at 8:05PM

If you've been scouting an unobtrusive range extender for your ZigBee network, look no further than Digi International's XBee Wall Router. If you'll recall, this isn't the first ZigBee extender sharing the same name (acquisitions tend to do that), but this little bugger simply plugs into a standard AC socket and "patches areas within a ZigBee network where signal erosion or loss occurs due to distance limitations or air interference." Additionally, it serves to create "multiple pathways, increasing the redundancy of the mesh communications," and the US flavor even includes an integrated mounting tab to prevent "accidental unplugging." Sound like just what you need? If so, you can snag one right now for $79.

ZigBee Alliance clears the way for new ZigBee PRO standard

by Donald Melanson posted Oct 13th 2007 at 11:53AM

The ZigBee wireless standard has already proven to be fairly successful in its current state, but it now looks like it'll soon be getting a boost, with the new and improved ZigBee PRO standard now apparently getting the all clear from the all-important ZigBee Alliance. Among other things, it supposedly improves the wireless technology's flexibility and ease of use, and adds a number of "advanced features," including support for larger wireless networks. While it appears to be all but a sure thing, the standard still has to go through the so-called "Golden Node" testing procedure, which focuses on interoperability between devices from different manufacturers. According Bob Gohn from Ember Corporation (a leading ZigBee firm), assuming all that goes as planned, the new platform should be ready for an official launch sometime in the fourth quarter of this year, although it's not clear when there might actually be some devices that take advantage of it.

Niles IntelliControl IC2 remote does it all with no screen

by Nilay Patel posted Jul 30th 2007 at 9:44PM

Although we're unabashed fans of super-complicated macro-and-touchscreen universal remotes, a lot of people just want to smack a button and have their home theater work without having to squint at tiny screens or worry about state-based macro operations. Niles Audio is hoping to to capitalize on that market with the IntelliControl IC2, an all-button RF remote that's optimized to control most home theater devices without the use of a screen. The included HT-MSU control unit / repeater has 8 IR / RS-232 outputs and connects to the IC2 via ZigBee, meaning the system can potentially be expanded further, although Niles hasn't announced such support yet. The company is expected to announce the IC2 at CEDIA in September, but if you're hoping to chuck your Harmony, you'd better start saving pennies: simplicity will cost you $999.

Denon launches programmable RC-7000CI remote

by Darren Murph posted Jul 28th 2007 at 2:12AM

Right on cue, Denon has gone and launched the oh-so-snazzy RC-7000CI remote, which we had the pleasure of seeing a tad early thanks to the FCC. The fully programmable, ZigBee-based remote allows for universal command and control of all Denon remote controlled products "as well as products from other manufacturers," and those with internet access (that'd be you, hot shot) can simply connect the remote to a PC via USB and "program the functionality of all the products in their system" care of the online IR database. Paired up with one or two RC-7001RCI RF/IR Remote Bases (pictured after the jump), the duo creates a multi-room remote control system that allows for "both two-way communication and IR functionality." As with everything labeled Denon, don't expect either of these August-bound niceties to come sans a premium, as you'll be asked to cough up $299.99 for the remote itself, while each base station adds another $199.99.

[Via TrustedReviews]

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Casuh's Joyfon headset enables multichannel wireless audio

by Darren Murph posted Jul 23rd 2007 at 10:26AM

Those tired of buying a proprietary adapter for each and every audio source they'd like to make wireless need look no further than Casuh, who has apparently conjured up an end-all solution to multiple audio sources funneling into a single wireless headset. The Joyfon headphones utilize the firm's Retaw-1 chip to communicate with transceivers that can plug into any audio source with an auxiliary output, giving users the ability to toggle between sources sans the fuss. Additionally, it looks like you can take a listen at multiple audio streams (hey, nothing wrong with a little Yeah Yeah Yeahs to drown out a recorded lecture), and it can even be used to hold conversations with other Joyfon users. Check it out in a bit more detail after the jump.

Continue reading Casuh's Joyfon headset enables multichannel wireless audio