automation

In partnership with private developers Gale International, South Korea is nearing the end of an ambitious $35 Billion project. They have set themselves the task of building a city from scratch with all the essential infrastructure homes, School, offices, hospitals and shopping centres and hotels.  Unlike any of the other Korean cities, ‘Songdo’ will be smart, connected and almost self sufficient. Read more »

Amdocs has announced the launch of two new solutions for service providers wanting to offer both M2M (Machine-to-Machine) and Connected Home services or either.  The new solutions according to Amdocs will enable service providers to quickly and cost-effectively enter the fast-growing connected devices market, create new revenue streams, provide a unified customer experience and allow them to compete with over-the-top providers. Read more »

Gainsborough is making having a different key for every access points in your home a thing of the past with their new G+ home access system.  The G+ Access system eliminates the need to carry separate alarm, garage door and gate remote controls in addition to front door keys.  G+ gives the home owner control from inside and convenience from the outside. Read more »

Apple enthusiast will be able to feast their eyes on Savant’s latest home control and automation solutions at this year's CES, in Las Vegas. The show starts next Tuesday the 10 of January and is one of the biggest consumer electronics show kick off the New Year. Savant promises to showcase its whole-home control and automation packages which feature SmartMedia, TrueCommand, Savant Select, TrueImage Control, Savant Sound and SavantEnergy Monitor. Read more »

With the run up to CES 2012, Control4 has launched a home control app for Android-based smartphones and tablets.  The new App. extends the flexibility of the Control4 home control platform, to provide control over security systems, lighting, music and video using Android.  MyHome for Android has been added to Control4’s MyHome for iPad and iPhone, giving the customer to option to use which ever device they choose to use. Read more »

AT&T has decided to get in on the home energy management action by indicating that they will be launching their own home energy management platform in the near future.  Jeffery Dygert, the company’s Executive Director of Public Policy broke the news during a panel discussion on the Broadband Breakfast Club; moderated by GigaoM reporter Katie Fehrenbacher. Jeffery said they want to offer the solution so that its customers can get more information about the energy they use within the home. Read more »

Mac-based home automation software provider Perceptive Automation today announces the release of Indigo 5. New with this update is a Python-based Plugin API that allows Independent Software Vendors (ISV) to create native device types, trigger events and actions which are fully integrated into the Indigo User Interface and server. Read more »

Like Verizon and Rogers Cable, Swisscom is planning to offer a home automation and monitoring service to its Swiss customers.  They have teamed up with iControl Networks, the provider of the OpenHome platform to develop the “Smart Living” solution for the Swiss and European markets. Both companies said through the Smart Living platform customers will be to stay connected with their home when away and be able to control home electrical appliances. Read more »

Control4 has release an upgraded version of its home automation operating system software, OS2.  The company said OS2.1 comes with a host of new features that allow for easier and faster installs. One of the core enhancements is an advanced diagnostic tool “Detective Suite”, which is an installer’s tool set.  Home users can expect better performance, stability and the option to have customised user interface for each room in the house. Read more »

The entire energy sector eyes are on Hawaii’s second largest island of Maui.  The island's electricity provider Maui Electric Company (MECO) and the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii (HNEI) said they want to reduce their dependency on imported Diesel Oil.  Currently 15 percent of the island’s electricity is generated by renewable energy and they have set themselves an ambitious target of increasing this number to 70 percent by the year 2030. Therefore, Maui Island has become a test bed for the latest in smart grid technologies under a Japanese-businesses and US joint partnership. Read more »