The Internet of Things coming to your home in a big way
I've always had an interest in home automation and whole home audio/video systems.
Over the years I've implemented a little of everything from X10 thru PCS, Insteon, etc., all the way up to Omni, Crestron, AMX and other systems.
In the early days, both the solutions and the protocols used were in most cases proprietary and while the controller could provide connectivity via serial links - there were often crude control packages for various devices. You often then had to "code" the functions into your controller and insure that the connector was working properly and even then - operation was not always smooth or reliable.
Depending on your controller and the various endpoints you were trying to control you also had to deal with wiring. As I stated most used serial connections - so if the devices were not close together - you were then trying to figure out how to get a wire there.
So several technologies started to change that paradigm. The first was WiFi. While initially focused on connecting computers - it quickly spread to printers, media players, thermostats and home automation control systems. Next were mesh protocols like Zigbee and Zwave. These protocols allow devices like wall switches, dimmers, smoke alarms, etc to create a mesh network and talk to a controller.
But many times - you needed a PC to run the software necessary to communicate to the controller and provide a UI to allow you to manage devices and still even then, you sometimes needed multiple applications to run everything. Some systems had touchscreen capabilities - but they were often extremely expensive and again you had to code to get them have the look and feel you wanted.
The next technology that began to change things was Mobile OS like iOS and Android. This allowed the product vendors to place the intelligence of the controller into the app and use a "hub" approach to communicate to end-devices.
Now we are starting to see the next wave.
Companies like Google and Nest started to take a look at this space and realized there was great opportunity to influence the market. They did that by introducing new protocols to control end devices.
Two of the latest are Thread and Weave.
Thread is an IoT mesh networking protocol much like Zigbee or Zwave and runs on IEEE 802.15.4 2.4Ghz wireless, but unlike those two introduces an IPv6 addressing capability know as "6LoWPAN". 6LoWPAN is an acronym of IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks.
Weave is an API programming layer that runs on top of Thread and is what device and automation developers write to. Developed by Google/Nest
Finally there is Brillo - Brillo is an IoT specific build of Android designed for micro devices.
One of the available implementations of this is Google's OnHub router. The OnHub router supports both Thread and Weave along with traditional WiFi.
Apple and Microsoft are also in the game - Apple has their HomeKit app and alliance and Microsoft a partnership with Insteon and "Smart things". But surprisingly neither has seen huge market penetration.
Then there is Amazon with their Echo device and most recently their Dash services which is very interesting take on eCommerce.
In addition - companies like Cox Communications, AT&T, Verizon, ADT and others are battling to get you to buy one of their systems to control it all.
While this battle is going on between the various Alliances and Vendors - the consumer product companies and beginning to pump out all sorts of "connected" devices from Washing Machines and Refrigerators to Water Softeners, Irrigation Systems, you name it.
Bottom line is that there is an huge battle going on for new devices in your home and you have some decisions to make on which products make sense to invest in.
My expectation is the over the next 4 years almost all new home appliances will be "connected" devices in some way shape or form. Sure the question will be will you utilize those capabilities - but they will be there.
It is also going to put more and more stress on your WiFi networks a the number of connected devices in your home grow. For example today I have 24 devices that show up in my WiFi map. I can easily see that number potentially doubling in the next few years.
Over the years I've implemented a little of everything from X10 thru PCS, Insteon, etc., all the way up to Omni, Crestron, AMX and other systems.
In the early days, both the solutions and the protocols used were in most cases proprietary and while the controller could provide connectivity via serial links - there were often crude control packages for various devices. You often then had to "code" the functions into your controller and insure that the connector was working properly and even then - operation was not always smooth or reliable.
Depending on your controller and the various endpoints you were trying to control you also had to deal with wiring. As I stated most used serial connections - so if the devices were not close together - you were then trying to figure out how to get a wire there.
So several technologies started to change that paradigm. The first was WiFi. While initially focused on connecting computers - it quickly spread to printers, media players, thermostats and home automation control systems. Next were mesh protocols like Zigbee and Zwave. These protocols allow devices like wall switches, dimmers, smoke alarms, etc to create a mesh network and talk to a controller.
But many times - you needed a PC to run the software necessary to communicate to the controller and provide a UI to allow you to manage devices and still even then, you sometimes needed multiple applications to run everything. Some systems had touchscreen capabilities - but they were often extremely expensive and again you had to code to get them have the look and feel you wanted.
The next technology that began to change things was Mobile OS like iOS and Android. This allowed the product vendors to place the intelligence of the controller into the app and use a "hub" approach to communicate to end-devices.
Now we are starting to see the next wave.
Companies like Google and Nest started to take a look at this space and realized there was great opportunity to influence the market. They did that by introducing new protocols to control end devices.
Two of the latest are Thread and Weave.
Thread is an IoT mesh networking protocol much like Zigbee or Zwave and runs on IEEE 802.15.4 2.4Ghz wireless, but unlike those two introduces an IPv6 addressing capability know as "6LoWPAN". 6LoWPAN is an acronym of IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks.
Weave is an API programming layer that runs on top of Thread and is what device and automation developers write to. Developed by Google/Nest
Finally there is Brillo - Brillo is an IoT specific build of Android designed for micro devices.
One of the available implementations of this is Google's OnHub router. The OnHub router supports both Thread and Weave along with traditional WiFi.
Apple and Microsoft are also in the game - Apple has their HomeKit app and alliance and Microsoft a partnership with Insteon and "Smart things". But surprisingly neither has seen huge market penetration.
Then there is Amazon with their Echo device and most recently their Dash services which is very interesting take on eCommerce.
In addition - companies like Cox Communications, AT&T, Verizon, ADT and others are battling to get you to buy one of their systems to control it all.
Bottom line is that there is an huge battle going on for new devices in your home and you have some decisions to make on which products make sense to invest in.
My expectation is the over the next 4 years almost all new home appliances will be "connected" devices in some way shape or form. Sure the question will be will you utilize those capabilities - but they will be there.
It is also going to put more and more stress on your WiFi networks a the number of connected devices in your home grow. For example today I have 24 devices that show up in my WiFi map. I can easily see that number potentially doubling in the next few years.
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