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DrQuine
Lots of houses have WiFi so it would seem the simple solution is to use a WiFi ...
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lifewingmate
I agree with you, Larry. Having a fully integrated system where home automation ...
"No New Wire" technologies to drive home automation market to 12 million systems in 2016, says ABI Research
Julien Happich
6/12/2011 12:45 PM EDT
Shipments of home automation systems will total about 1.8 million worldwide this year. But according to ABI Research, that number is set to rise sharply soon, exceeding 12 million in 2016. These figures are contained in a new home automation study from the firm, which confirms its previous forecasts.
This robust growth is the result of standards-based, "no new wire" wireless and powerline technologies such as ZigBee that drive down system costs and expand the addressable market.
The market is also seeing considerable innovation. One example is Google's recently-launched "Android@Home Framework." Android@Home is essentially a middleware layer sitting on top of the newest Android OS. The Framework provides APIs to enable devices, such as light switches and consumer appliances, to be discovered and connected to a central home automation application, and controlled via smartphone. A key aspect of the announcement is a new low-power wireless communications protocol to support device connectivity in cases where Wi-Fi is not available or practical.
Much has been made in the press of Android@Home's potential as a "ZigBee Killer." But, says practice director Sam Lucero, "Talk of Android@Home as a ZigBee Killer (or Z-Wave Killer, etc.) largely misses the point of the announcement. The wireless protocol announced along with the Framework seems positioned almost as an afterthought. ABI Research believes the Framework is more directly targeted as competition for the software now being provided by vendors such as Control4, Motorola Mobility (via its 4Home acquisition), iControl, and others."
However, Lucero notes, these incumbent vendors themselves are engaged in consolidation and partnership development, meaning that Google is now up against the likes of AT&T (Xanboo), Motorola (4Home), iControl (original iControl + uControl), Control4 (Cisco), and Honeywell, rather than the set of small start-ups it would have faced three or four years ago.
ABI Research's "Home Automation and Monitoring" study analyzes the market for home automation and home security technologies and shows how these two markets are increasingly intersecting with the advent of home monitoring and managed home automation. Also central is an examination of trends in the use of cellular wireless technologies. Market forecasts are provided through 2016.
Visit ABI Research at http://www.abiresearch.com.
This article originally appeared on EE Times Europe.
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LarryM99
6/13/2011 6:56 PM EDT
What I like about Android@Home is the fact that they are building a software stack that isn't hardwired into a physical layer. Where would Google be now if they had had to build a new Internet to run their software? They understand building on top of existing infrastructure.
Larry M.
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lifewingmate
6/14/2011 12:58 AM EDT
I agree with you, Larry. Having a fully integrated system where home automation meets home security would justify the cost of such an upgrade. Having this wireless technology is also easier to integrate into existing and new homes, condos, and other systems (such as dorms and other larger infrastructures). What's interesting to me is that this article and the smart parking sensor article (tech like that is implemented in SF, the usual early adoptors) are originally appearing in EE Times Europe. I'm hoping other places will adopt it. I do realize that developing countries and places with either older or up and coming internet infrastructures will have a harder time adapting to this because their networks are possibly not as protected or widely connected. In addition, any information that is wireless will need special encryption, protection, and require server fail-over or back-up power. Also, with the "green" movement, how energy will the automation/monitoring be?
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DrQuine
6/16/2011 8:36 AM EDT
Lots of houses have WiFi so it would seem the simple solution is to use a WiFi home network rather than a wired network. All the devices would simply be a few more devices on the existing network.
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