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+--- Thread: Smart homes (/thread-2676.html)
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- Home - 01-03-2012
Lets run this one by the forum.
Its part of a discussion that i picked up on on Linkedin regarding Smart Homes and the slow/poor take up of such technology.
What was being suggested is that your home automation \'does not work\' because it involves to much interaction between the customers needs/requirements and the programmer (either the customer if he takes control himself or the installer). Following on from this the author suggested that with the level of intelligence now available in software such as is available in Siri perhaps \'the system\' should be \'intelligent\' enough to sort out/suggest features for the customer based on.... well knowledge gained from the system.
So for example the system intelligence is such that it knows when someone is in or out of the house (armed or disarmed). If the system is normally armed for 8 hours max and then gets armed for 12 hours may be \'the system\' contacts its owner to ask \"you have been away from our home for over 8 hours would you like me to arm to holiday mode?\".
Perhaps not the best example but you get the idea, the possibilities are endless. We work with a MAC consultant and i\'m sure that the Siri / apple type codes will soon become available..
- schford - 01-04-2012
Interesting thoughts, reminds me of a few white papers we did (I have a global tier 1 IT background) for some large FTSE 100 and gov departments.
They ended up being followed up with some studies and we discovered(well we proved what we said!) that when it comes to tech utilisation you don\'t see the bell curve you expect.
We saw that we got shifted curve depending on how easy tech was perceived to be.
For one particular example on fraud detection we got a 500% increase in results with a new GUI with absolutely zero change of the underlying code!!!! It was just easier for the user to use and interpret the results.
I have seen it time and again in the large scale corporate / public sector world - although I have not done anything similar in home world (although thats where my passion is) I think you hit the nail on the head with this discussion.
imho - dont worry about some mac consultant - I bet we could list out the top 10 things the system should do and then package them for the market.
In fact I have been wondering what to do with my time next - think might have hit on it!!! :-)
- ident - 01-04-2012
Quote:So for example the system intelligence is such that it knows when someone is in or out of the house (armed or disarmed). If the system is normally armed for 8 hours max and then gets armed for 12 hours may be \'the system\' contacts its owner to ask \"you have been away from our home for over 8 hours would you like me to arm to holiday mode?\".
It is better that the system does not even need to ask
If it is in away for a number of hours then it can automatically go to vacation Mode
If you dont have any vacation mode then there is no effect as Vacation would be the same as Away. This can be done by programming, so a lot of the ease of using and interacting with the system can be determined by the installer
Comfort is a tool and a programmable platform which depends on the ingenuity of the installer
- juwi_uk - 01-04-2012
My thoughts.
So from what I\'m reading into what\'s been said it\'s a fight between the programming power of Comfort versus the time it takes to program it?
IMHO 2 areas spring to mind in terms of roadmap which could help:
1) A fast start wizard for Comfigurator that installers/self-installers could use immediately after install. Yep I know it has templates but what if you could push one button it goes off and discovers all of the installed modules, asks a few pertinent questions about how the user would like the system to work via some wizard screens and examples/scenarios and press \"GO\" at the end to get an initial working system ready to walk test. That would surely hide some of the complexity without compromising on the powerful capabilities of the solution that can be added later. Given that Comfigurator has a lot of that discovery technology already in place then it\'s just a case of pulling it all together via a wizard?
2) An end user focussed solution that would empower the average \"Joe public\" owner (not us enthusiasts) to make a few changes themselves post install without compromising the integrity of any installer managed solution but still giving them the warm feeling that they dont have ring their installer every time they want to do what they feel should be a simple tweak. Any solution needs to be end-user proof and have technolgy built in to prevent them from \"harming their system\"; maybe the equivalent of system restore (in Windows) where they can undo/rollback, lots of help and examples to guide them etc etc. Maybe at the end, document any changes and if installer managed email them to the installer too so they have copy. Lots of user-friendly stuff like that. IMHO that is where WizComfort maybe should be focussing it\'s roadmap? Again Wizcomfort already seems to be doing some of this now?
Most end users surely have a PC these days and if you make it easy for them to connect to Comfort then they are surely going to take advantage; Eth0x with WIFI springs to mind.
My thoughts into the mix.
Julian
- slychiu - 01-05-2012
Thats a good idea, I was thinking of something like this for some time
- juwi_uk - 01-05-2012
IMHO once you have Eth0x with WIFI then that should ship with all new systems as standard, and downplay USB and RS232 connections.
This will mean that installers and end users alike have a single communications method which can be operated 6 inches aware from an open comfort chassis by an installer using a laptop or 50 feet away by the end user later once the system is commissioned and the installer left site.
I guess that would up the cost slightly but now you have the lower cost Ethxx boards and shipping more that gap is going to narrow?
Only scenario I can see is users with desktops that donââ¬â¢t tend to have WIFI but I assume that the WIFI eth0x would still have a physical RJ45 port too so you can run a cable. Hey and you are from the \"lands\" where PC WIFI dongles are pence to make so you can always supply one \"free-ish\" as part of the initial bundle.
What\'s important though IMHO is that end users can communicate with Comfort once all the covers are back on. Surely that\'s a big barrier to them right now for them being involved unless installers present existing rs232/USB/eth connections outside of the case somehow and even then sitting in a dark closet where the Comfort Chassis is mounted is not a typical casual end user ââ¬Åsportââ¬Â of choice when they casually want to interact!
Hopefully installers would setup the end users PC with the necessary software as part of the install and demo it all connecting nicely. Oh and obviously they wouldnââ¬â¢t hesitate in mentioning the 3rd party applications available out there like ComfortClient!! :0)
Julian
- ident - 01-05-2012
End users should have a ucm/ethernet but they may not need the wifi version if they can connect the UCM to a LAN port. The price difference is not insignificant.
However USB cannot be discarded for installers as ethernet may not be avallable at the time of installation, and there are always more problems with network setup than USB.
Rs232 is hardly ever supplied except for the Universal UCM and 3rd party interfaces
It is better to leave the choice to installers and users
- juwi_uk - 01-05-2012
IMHO it\'s crazy not to push ethernet and make attractive pricepoint to installers to specify as default over USB.
An end users pc is going to be say in their living room, the Comfort panel tucked away in the broom cupboard or loft say. Going to need a long USB cable!
Yes running a Cat5e cable from Comfort to wherever the end-users (typically) 4 port switch/router combo is located would be good but again I\'d suggest that in a lot of cases the end-user gets the broadband supplier to terminate next to where their PC is going to be located (and not next to Comfort) so that the router is placed next to the PC.
All of this making it more difficult for the user to interact with Comfort other than if they happen to have an iPhone and can use that app. Oh but hey the same problem of wiring back to the router/switch; do installers typically do this as a default anyway then?
Julian
- slychiu - 01-07-2012
I think the UCM/Ethernet is already at an attractive price point. However I dont think we should make the USB option less attractive by increasing the price until it is unattractive. The installer or end user should have the choice as their requirements may not be the same.
I doubt any user would use the UCM/USB to connect to comfort on a regular basis, but USB may be more convenient to installers as they dont have to depend on a network setup. The UCN/USB (id 1) is normally used on site and is not part of the users system.
I would say that the vast majority of users who have Comfort installed for them (and I am talking about worldwide, not just the UK) do not have a UCM of any kind. End users who do not install their own system are not as knowledgeable as self installers
Wifi cannot be a standard for the UCM/ethernet (not available yet) at this time, as the cost difference is not insignificant and it may not be needed in most cases. With ADSL I think it makes more sense to locate the router next to the incoming telephone, instead of near the PC, because there may be several PCs in various rooms, so it should be no problem to connect to Comfort which is also mounted near the incoming telephone. Thus a PC can connect via wifi to Comfort easily, (wifi on the UCM/Ethernet is not required)
It is only when the router is not located near to Comfort, that a wifi option for the UCM/Ethernet is needed) for which there will be an addtional cost.
Hence the customer pays only for what they require which is only fair
- Home - 01-08-2012
OK Ethernet options aside they are already available. What is much more exciting is the possibility of (yes a road map)with the following planned in!
CAN WE further EXPLORE a couple of the very good suggestion as above.
1) FAST START WIZARD
2) SMARTER than ever (for want of any better expression) Schford seems to suggest that by taking TEN things the system should do and then packaging them for market we could make some inroads into the Siri/total automation arena.