smart home

29 'smart home' stories June 2014 - August 2015

LG’s new smart sensor aims to turn dumb appliances into slightly smart ones

Ben Lovejoy Aug 31 2015 - 5:12 am PT

Smart appliances may be great, but they’re also expensive – and it’s not like any of us budget to replace things like fridges, cookers and washing-machines very often. LG thinks it may have the solution, in the form of its new SmartThinQ sensors, designed to turn our existing dumb appliances into slightly smarter ones.

The sensor can add remote control functionality to some devices, like air conditioners, and monitor others – for example, a vibration sensor sending your smartphone an alert when the wash cycle is complete.

It’s not quite the full deal, but – depending on cost – could be a decent halfway house. Press release below, and we should learn more about them at IFA later this week.

LG Electronics (LG) will showcase its latest smart home technology at IFA 2015 in Berlin this week to enhance the lives of consumers. LG’s new SmartThinQ Sensor can be attached to many traditional home appliances to make them “smart-aware”. What’s more, LG will unveil their Smart Lightwave Oven and Smart Air Conditioner that are compatible with AllJoyn, an open platform for the internet of things (IoT) developed by the Allseen Alliance.

The SmartThinQ Sensor is a circular device that can be attached to existing home appliances such as washing machines or refrigerators, to sense feedback such as vibration and temperature and communicate those readings to the SmartThinQ app on users’ smartphones. For example, attaching the sensor to a normal washing machine door transforms the washer into a smart appliance that informs the user when the laundry cycle is complete. Attach the SmartThingQ Sensor to a refrigerator and it will send a notification to a connected smartphone when a particular food item is about to expire. The sensor will also keep track of how many times the door is opened even when you’re not home. And connecting the SmartThingQ Sensor to an air conditioner or other appliances will allow users to control the appliances remotely through the SmartThinQ app.

AllJoyn is a collaborative open-source software framework that makes it easy for devices and apps to discover and communicate with each other. AllJoyn is endorsed by all members of the Allseen Alliance, a cross-industry IoT consortium of more than 180 companies. The AllJoyn compatible Smart Lightwave Oven from LG allows users to download, update and share recipes with friends and relatives via their mobile devices. The Smart Lightwave Oven is Wi-Fi enabled, allowing homeowners to use their smartphones to set the cooking mode, temperature and cooking time for a given dish. The Smart Lightwave Oven can even perform self-diagnosis and help find solutions and repair information online through an LG service center. LG’s Smart Air Conditioner not only informs owners when to replace the air filter, it can also be controlled remotely from a smartphone, putting an end to entering a hot, stuffy home on a hot day.

“Adoption of smart home appliances has been slow because of the perception that the technology is not easily accessible,” said Jo Seong-jin, president and CEO of the LG Electronics Home Appliance & Air Solution Company. “LG is committed to continuing its leadership in the smart home market with innovations such as LG SmartThingQ, which provides real-life benefits and offers new lifestyle conveniences through technology that is easy to use.”

LG’s smart appliances and more will be on display at LG’s IFA booth in Hall 18 of Messe Berlin from September 4-9.

Via Android Central

Nest’s plans for a Dropcam successor possibly outed by new FCC documents

Stephen Hall Jun 8 2015 - 9:09 am PT

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Nest sent out press invitations last week to an event on June 17th, and we speculated that it might mean that the company is ready to announce its first Dropcam successor since being acquired by Google in June of 2014. Now, thanks to an FCC filing that we’ve uncovered (published to the FCC website on May 28th), it seems more likely that the company is getting ready to announce the next generation of its security camera…
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Samsung promises every piece of hardware the company makes will be a connected device within five years

Ben Lovejoy Jan 6 2015 - 4:51 am PT

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Announcing a new version of its SmartThings Hub, Samsung co-CEO BK Yoon said that every piece of hardware the company makes will be a connected device within five years.

By 2017, 90% of all Samsung’s products will be Internet of Things devices, and that includes all of our televisions and mobile devices[…] Five years from now, every single piece of Samsung hardware will be an IoT device, whether it is an air purifier or an oven.

Yoon also said that the company was committed to open connectivity, rather than the walled garden approach the company has previously taken, where its devices only talk to other Samsung devices …
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Samsung in talks to acquire SmartThings smart home platform for $200 million

9to5 Staff Jul 15 2014 - 8:01 pm PT

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According to a report from TechCrunch, Samsung is in talks with SmartThings to acquire the smart home platform for around $200 million. The report originally claimed that the deal was completed, but TechCrunch has since updated the report to note a second source says the talks are still ongoing.

SmartThings is a home automation platform that enables Android and iOS users to effortlessly control their home from one simple app, including lights, locks, electronics, appliances and other connected home devices. The app can also detect motion, alert you of danger and monitor how many family members are home at any given time.
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Samsung, Nest, ARM and others say Smart homes need more than WiFi and Bluetooth, propose Thread IP6 mesh network

Ben Lovejoy Jul 15 2014 - 3:54 am PT

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Wifi and Bluetooth may work fine for today’s limited number of smart home devices, but neither is ideal for future homes in which every switch, socket and lightbulb may be a connected device – that’s the claim of a consortium of companies that includes Samsung, Nest and ARM.

GigaOM reports that the companies have jointly created a new radio system which they believe is more suited to smart home networks than existing systems.

Dubbed Thread, it is a low-power, mesh network protocol that also supports IPv6. The standard is built on the existing radio hardware used by ZigBee devices (802.15.4), which means that a company could update their ZigBee devices to support Thread with software if they chose …

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Nest to share some user data with Google, open up third-party development platform

Mike Beasley Jun 23 2014 - 9:57 pm PT

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Google CEO Larry Page (centre) with Nest co-founders Matt Rogers amd Tony Fadell (photo: technologyreview.com)

Google and Nest have big plans for their partnership, the Wall Street Journal reports. The two companies plan to team up to offer a development platform around the Nest learning thermostat and Nest Protect smoke/CO detector in what appears to be the next step in Google’s connected home efforts following the Mountain View company’s $555 million acquisition of Dropcam a few days ago.

The system as it is currently said to exist allows users to issue voice commands to a smartphone to change settings on the Nest lineup or change a house’s temperature based on the owner’s proximity (so the air comes on when you’re almost home). However, the “Works with Nest” program will soon be expanded to support third-party remotes and appliances.

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