As our homes acquire sentience, a few are attempting to traverse the technological silos… in an approachable way, suitable for civilians and geeks alike. While companies like Zonoff, Revolv, and Smarthings each strive to take home automation mainstream with somewhat differing technological and marketing approaches, they share a vendor- and network-neutral approach as they aim to provide an alternative to the security and telecom firms that are likewise pushing into this realm. And, as you might guess from the tweets and pics, I came away from CES quite enamored with Zonoff.
Instead of selling directly to consumers, like a Revolv, Zonoff is more iControl in powering partner company solutions – such as the Staples Connect. And I appreciate that they conduct themselves in an aboveboard way, working alliances, rather than spoofing Sonos and Nest communication… something I see as an unsustainable business model that could lead to a number of upset customers when, inevitably, protocols change and C&D letters arrive.
Staples Connect is the most accessible and encompassing of their offerings thus far and consists of a $100 Linksys hub module, with no recurring fees, and the requisite apps for designing activities and home control. Think Harmony Remote for Home Automation. Again, the power here is their agnostic approach. View your D-Link security cam on your Samsung HDTV, as shown above, or tell your Jawbone Up fitness band you’re headed to bed which, in turn, triggers your Lutron dimmer-controlled lights to power down.
We anticipate we’ll have a whole lot more to say on the subject of Staples Connect in the near future… stay tuned!
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The Zonoff briefing was definitely one of my CES highlights - both the tech and the people. CEO Mike Harris came from the digital media space and was previously involved in Divx (when they were cool), and I appreciated his Boxee vs. Hulu analogies. Post-CES, he's also been brainstorming with me in ways I can trick out my house based on some of the things he's done in his own. Their tie-in with Lutron turns every inexpensive Pico remote into an independent physical controller (think WAF) and there are quite a few interesting possibilities. I'll definitely have more to say in the coming months.
Does this mean you're planning to replace your in-wall switches with Lutron Caseta switches? I have a few (old) x10 PCS wall (scene) switches in our family room (with an IR X10 controller for control from our HTM IR remote). However, they were rather expensive so I never added any more in the rest of the house.
Now it sounds like Lutron Caseta switches may be the way to go from here if they are in fact Zwave and thus should work regardless of whatever bridge (and software) is chosen to work with them... Could they possibly be "future-proof"?
I do hope Lutron will expand this Caseta line, though. Home Depot carries it as well but there appears to only be one wall switch and one plug-in module -- and the HD specs indicate a "proprietary" protocol (though I suspect that may be wrong). For example, I would like to see "relay" type switches for controlling non-dimmable fluorescent loads.
Any idea if the Caseta switches require a neutral wire? Most switch (only) boxes don't have one.
It's a matter of time before home automation becomes mainstream. It's on the rise with new products coming into the market. You look at the success of smart locks as an example. Newest smart lock coming http://www.geniesmartlock.com will be interesting given it's a door handle with both bluetooth and wifi, rather than a deadbolt. I do like the Kevo if you're just looking for a bluetooth deadbolt though.