A prominent theme this year at CES was the smart home - there seemed to be value in connecting to the Internet every object in the home. Another was wearables, which, in essence, turns the user into a connected device. A noticeable trend was the slow death of "home automation" as a buzzword. In its place, terms like "smart home" and "connected home" became dominant.
Home automation has been around for more than a decade, but has remained relatively stagnant until recent years. Multiple factors contribute to the revisited interest. US telcos have poured significant resources into market education, helping consumers better understand how they can benefit from an automated home. Another reason the pace of development has accelerated is because of advances in manufacturing and wireless technologies. And then, of course, there's price — no longer do smart home systems come with a hefty price tag and require professional installation.
At its core, however, the smart home market has benefited greatly from the prevalence of smartphones and the emergence of the app economy. In many markets, more than half of the population keep in their pocket a powerful, handheld, multipurpose computer that features a large screen display, numerous sensors, and is always connected. The mostobvious implication this has for users is inexpensive remote video surveillance system that allows them to keep an eye on their home, whether they're mainly interested in enforcing curfews for children, keeping an eye on pets, or for security purposes. With a little imagination, however, the possibilities are endless.
Demonstrable Benefits
One promise of the smart home is to make homes more intelligent, thereby enabling devices and service to offer convenience, comfort, security or safety. This is accomplished through sensors that give insight about the environment, services or devices that process that data, and devices that act accordingly. This year at CES, the potential of the smart home was highlighted by demonstrations of open standards like ZigBee, Z-Wave and AllJoyn.
Qualcomm's "Connected Smart Home" demonstration showcased how AllJoyn devices could send notifications to every other AllJoyn device on the network and trigger events. Some of the devices featured were an August smart lock that could be controlled via a smartphone app, Lifx lights that change color according to the trigger, a Haier air conditioner that responded to triggers sent by the aforementioned devices, and more.
ZigBee's booth, while not as elaborate, also showcased how devices from different manufacturers could work together seamlessly to enhance day-to-day life. Z-Wave touts the largest ecosystem of smart home devices, announcing late last year the 1,000th addition to its family of supported devices. Their booth focused on how the standard and Z-Wave devices have evolved over the years.
Popular Product Categories
Home appliance makers Haier, LG, Samsung and Whirlpool showcased their visions of a smart home. However, more common products at CES were ones that consumers can easily relate to and understand the benefits, such as various types of cameras, smart door locks, smart outlets and power strips, and lighting equipment.
Quite a few manufacturers showcased home security cameras. Basic features include remote monitoring via smartphones, Wi-Fi connectivity and PIR motion sensors. More advanced models included features like two-way audio, notifications and cloud-based storage.
Home security cameras are already fairly mature products, so the more interesting ones were all about creative applications. Amaryllo's Skype-certified iCam HD cameras featured an aesthetically pleasing design and AR-like controls. FLIR Systems introduced a multipurpose camera that uses optional cases to become either an indoor or outdoor home security camera, wearable camera or dashboard camera. Video door phones like Skybell and Doorbot upgrade traditional doorbells with video, audio, smartphone notifications and remote monitoring.
Two notable cameras at CES were crowdfunded smart home use cameras Canary and Blacksumac's Piper. They both integrate into the smart home ecosystem and have built-in sensors that enable innovative features. Canary is a member of the AllSeen Alliance, while Piper uses the Z-Wave protocol.
Numerous vendors were touting smart plugs or power strips. The most obvious value in connecting ordinary objects to the Internet is that they enable off-site control, and power strips are no exception. More advanced ones also connect to other appliances in the home via proprietary or open standards, enabling infinite possibilities for automation.
Lighting equipment was more colorful than anything else. Philips Hue brought smart light bulbs to the mainstream, and is arguably the market leader in this product category. Its 16 million colors cater to any user and any mood, while IFTTT and Zigbee support enable trigger-based events. Startups like Lifx and ilumi have their own takes on this product category, however. Lifx uses AllJoyn to eliminate the need for a dedicated hub that needs to be attached to the router, while ilumi uses Bluetooth.
It is evident from this year's CES that there is true value in connecting almost every object to the Internet. From spoons to toothbrushes to scales to flowerpots to refrigerators, connected objects can send data on usage patterns and user behavior to other devices or cloud-based services. This data can then be recorded and analyzed to, ideally, provide insight on how users can improve their lifestyles. For objects that do not yet have built-in sensors or connectivity, Sen.se's compact multipurpose sensors can be attached to any object to fill in the gap.
Close, But Not Quite
Interoperability was a hot topic for connected devices, arguably because a smart home cannot really be smart unless devices can talk to each other. Many device makers are beginning to realize this, touting at CES the number of third-party devices they work with. However, with a number of open standards on the market, such as Z-Wave, ZigBee and Bluetooth, consumers are essentially choosing between different open, but incompatible, ecosystems.
Another problem is that most of these devices require users to install an app to control each of them. This is essentially the 21st century's take on the remote control basket. Users did not enjoy the remote control basket; likewise, controlling one's homes via a dozen individual apps is an issue that needs resolving.
While an army of Internet-connected devices can enrich a user's life, it does not necessarily make a home smart. For the smart home movement to reach its full potential, devices need to be able to talk to each other. There is hope, however. Smart hubs, or gateways, like Revolv, SmartThings and Staples Connect attempt to unify different standards and devices through a single user interface.
The smart house security market seems to be taking off, but there is still a bit of work to do before it can "really" take off. This year's CES was primarily about picking low-hanging fruit, with device makers adding Internet connectivity and smartphone operation to "dumb" objects in the home that can clearly benefit from them. The coming year will, hopefully, see different industries work together to continue to educate the market and help consumers understand scenarios in which their lives can be improved by a smarter home. Many people at the show were excited about recent developments in smart home devices, but admitted that the market is still in its early stages — there are still countless scenarios and applications to explore.
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