I have been tinkering with bits and pieces of smart home technology for years, but it has been a slow and frustrating process. Currently my home boasts Nest thermostats and smoke detectors, a Google Home (with two mini’s in other parts of the house), some LIFX LED ribbon lights, a rather temperamental Kevo lock and, most recently, a Logitech Harmony Hub.<\/p>\n
Interoperability is a big buzz word in the marketplace, but even with my rather modest setup, getting smart devices to be… well, actually smart with each other has been a struggle.<\/p>\n
Petulant may not be entirely correct, maybe Selfish<\/strong> might be a better term?<\/p>\n To me it always seems like there is a lot of “I won’t get there from here.” IoT products tend towards siloed verticals with an incomplete patchwork of interconnections.<\/p>\n Some quick Internet research on smart device support forums are full of people with frustrations. Many times this stems from an initial purchase of one tech item, say a voice assistant, or maybe a smart phone controlled light. Then more and more tech gets added to the mix, but when you want to connect this with that, you find a dead end. As you are left switching between a zillion different apps to do what you want, you are left asking, “How is this smart?”<\/p>\n My advice is it is all about the research. Just as any business would, you need to hammer out what you want your smart home to do for you, then have a look at the ecosystem of IoT devices (that talk well together) and start phasing your tech in. There are robust platforms like Smartthings<\/a> and Home Assistant (Hass.io)<\/a> that support a veritable plethora of products, and can provide a “one view, control everything” interface (if that is your goal).<\/p>\n If you are just getting your toes wet, Google Assistant<\/a>, Amazon Echo<\/a> and Apple HomePod<\/a> can offer some interesting connections to other products; all with voice control. Just don’t expect these assistants to chat much with each other.<\/p>\n Phase in slowly and be prepared for the odd square peg that won’t fit your solution.<\/p>\n If you would like to discuss how IoT devices could fit into your solution, send me a note on my contact us<\/a> page.<\/p>\n -bj<\/p>\n