Since founding cyberManor in late 1999 I have been looking for a home computing infrastructure and automation control software that would replicate the technology control experience one now takes for granted in the corporate world. In the professional workplace one can:
* Easily and reliably connect personal computers (over wired or wireless connections)
* Quickly become skillful at operating many different software applications and hardware platforms because they all follow the very consistent graphical interface standards established by the look and feel of the Windows or MAC operating systems
* Seamlessly add peripheral products (such as network scanners, printers, or storage drives) because they are now automatically discovered by the computer’s operating system and added to the networked environment
If the same experience held true in the today’s home one could easily and reliably connect the home’s technology infrastructure of “clients” (namely computers, audio/video, lighting, security, and HVAC systems) to one another. These systems would be connected to the home network backbone over wired or wireless connections. Each of these home systems (again computers, audio/video, lighting, security, and HVAC) would be easy to operate and control because they all would follow the rules of a graphical interface standardized by a universally accepted home operating system. Finally, when new devices or components are added to the home network (like IP cameras or a new PVR) they would automatically be discovered and added to our home operating experience without the need for any additional programming efforts.
Unfortunately, the home technology environment is significantly more complex than the corporate world. In the workplace there are drop ceilings in which to run CAT5 cables and every component on the office network from computers to printers to cameras have a standardized 10/100/1000 Ethernet port. By contrast, an existing home can have a sauna-like insulated attic in the summer, an animal infested sub-floor crawl space, and fire-blocks in walls that can foil the best laid plans to pre-wire a home with CAT5 cabling. In the corporate world all devices have operating systems that automatically recognize and discover IP addresses devices, in the home computers perform this function well but audio/video equipment, lighting systems, and thermostats do not. In the corporate world all application and equipment control is initiated from a keyboard, mouse and a large desktop screen. The home’s functions must be controlled from a variety of interfaces, such as handheld push button remotes, keypads on various walls, touch-pad “coffee table” remotes, personal digital assistants and even the office computer. In the corporate world when the next generation hardware or software product is connected to the office network it is automatically discovered by the computer operating system and its control begins with a familiar desktop icon. When a new hardware product is added in the home it is very unlikely to connect to any other component on the home network let alone have a user interface in which we are familiar.
To tackle the daunting engineering task of harnessing the home’s heterogeneously complex technology environment comes a company from Salt Lake City, Utah, called Control4 that aims to do for the residential world what Microsoft and Apple did for the corporate world – standardize, simplify, and enrich the use of technology in the home – for today’s and tomorrow’s home systems. From seasoned control veterans, Will West and Eric Smith, Will and Eric founded PHAST Corp. almost 15 years ago), Control4 has been founded on the following fundamental principles:
* An IP switched backbone is fundamental to the interconnectivity of devices in the home
* A single graphical user interface running on multiple different platforms (large screen TV’s, in-wall touch screens, keypads, and/or hand held remotes) should always have the same look and feel to easily control all of the home systems
* Home electronic components should be “auto-discovered” and seamlessly integrated into the home’s technology ecosystem (over wired or wireless connections)
Shipping for over 4 years now (they will be showcasing their latest product line offerings at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January), Control4 and their integrated partners, will demonstrate a full line of audio/video, lighting, and thermostat products that will all connect to one another over a wired 10/100 Ethernet connection, WiFi, or a wireless, reliable, secure, mesh network of ZigBee Pro enabled devices (the IEEE 802.15.4 standard). Control4 will launch a new, rich set of graphical control interface templates to control their suite of IP enabled home products, including a Linux-based control platform, home entertainment media room and whole house audio/video components, intelligent light switches and a network enabled thermostat control.
(reprinted from Residential Systems Magazine)
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