Home Automation Trending at CES 2013

Image Montage by Wo-Built: Home Automation Technology at CES 2013
Images: Top-Left: Lowe’s Iris automation system 
(Source: cepro.com: CES 2013 Shocker: Lowe’s Iris Home Automation Has Legs)
Top-Right: Ivee Sleek voice activation assistant 
(Source: ces.cnet.com: Voice-controlled home assistant is like a nicer HAL 9000)

As CES 2013 kicks into high gear in Las Vegas, it’s clear that our homes are about to become much more interactive, in the digital sense of the word.

Gone are the days of getting up out of your La-Z-Boy to check the thermostat, turn lights on or off, check door locks and much more. You don’t even need to be physically in your home anymore. Interacting with your home is becoming more a matter of remote touch or voice-enabled app via tablet or smartphone.

Lowe’s Iris automation platform works with Zigbee and Z-Wave technologies and sells as a service in the U.S. for $9.99 a month. It offers remote security and home management features, including the ability to monitor cameras, windows and door locks, adjust thermostat, operate compatible devices in real time.

For those within earshot of their house, the Ivee Sleek offers impressive voice-activation capabilities and is compatible with a variety of other devices to give your home that “2001: A Space Odyssey” or “Star Trek” feel. One device which it can control is Nest’s “learning thermostat.”

youtube.com: Meet the Nest Learning Thermostat

Uploaded by Nest on Oct 2, 2012

The Almond+ router by Securifi offers a 2.8-inch touchscreen with Smart Hub integration with Zigbee and Z-Wave technologies. It appears to offer many of the same features as Lowe’s Iris, but without a monthly fee. Still, currently a project on Kickstarter, it may be some time before you can have one in your home.

Image: Securifi’s Almond+ Router
(Source: pcmag.com: CES 2013: Securifi's Almond+ Router Tackles Home Automation)

Want to be able to take command of your interior lighting without waiting for a complete home automation platform? Why not try GreenWave Reality’s WiFi-enabled light bulbs. With available remote controls, dedicated WiFi gateway, and iOS/Android app, you’ll be taking command of your home’s lighting from just about anywhere.

Image: GreenWave Reality’s WiFi-enabled light bulbs with remote control and wireless gateway can be controlled by a custom app running on Apple and Android mobile touch devices.

(Source: latimes.com: CES 2013: Lighting up the smart home)

It looks like the age of the Jetsons may finally be approaching (don’t hold your breath on the flying car, though). Do these gadgets really make a home come alive, though?

In the same way that Las Vegas itself is filled with bells and whistles, but cannot hold a candle to the vitality and vibrancy of a rainforest, home automation technology is no substitute for living organisms.

The technology that gets us more excited is home revitalization: PeapodLife.



Attila Lendvai
VP of Strategic Development
Wo-Built Inc. - Innovative Design and Build

links:
wikipedia.org: Home automation

pcmag.com: CES 2013: Securifi's Almond+ Router Tackles Home Automation
At CES, Securifi took the wraps off Almond+, a color touch-screen router with an integrated Smart Home hub.
by Samara Lynn

latimes.com: CES 2013: Lighting up the smart home
Smartphones. Smart TVs. Smart appliances. Smart ... light bulbs?
by Jon Healey

smithsonianmag.com: The Gadgets of the Future From the Electrical Shows of Yesterday

The latest and best tweets on #2013CES and #2014ces.
Read what people are saying about the International Consumer Electronics Show or simply CES, and join the conversation.