Hi,
And good morning; had some time off this week! Ended up hanging out in Cork City on Thursday night, and thoroughly enjoyed the buzz around time. The great weather we are getting at the moment is a big help and raises people’s spirits. Let me now segway into the world of smart homes:
Aqara Smart Light Switches 🔦
Traditionally, there has always been a dearth of supply of smart wall switches here in Europe. And to be honest, it’s been pretty frustrating. In fairness to the manufacturers; they do need to deal with a myriad of backboxes and wiring schemes, in this part of the world. So, when I see a hint of supply and choice in this smart home category, I tend to highlight. So this week, I came across this short clip of news announcing the release of Aqara manufactured light switches. Key features include:
- Neutral wire agonostic
- Wired and wireless iterations
- Version 3.0 Zigbee
Not much more to say on this one.
Ring Smart Cars 🚗
Although, strictly speaking, this story doesn’t slot into the realm of the smart home, but couldn’t mention it! Its got to do with Ring and their recent announcement to expand their smart camera product lines into cars. Famous for its doorbells and smart home cameras, the company is now setting its sites on your car. Not only is the company releasing a new camera later this year, but according to the companies founder (Jamie Siminoff), a Ring car alarm will also be available to car owners. Interesting developments and will keep you updated if I hear any more details. You can check this full article for all the details if you want to read more.
This Weeks Blog Post
If you’re looking to automate your home, Google Home is one of the best ways to go. This is because Google Home compatible devices are some of the best you’ll find in the smart home market. Having Google-compatible devices in your home means that you’ll be using Google Assistant to control them. The best thing about the Google Home ecosystem is that it has every kind of device you might be looking for. From smart cameras, thermostats to smart lighting, among many others, Google Home has it all. When you have any of the Google smart speakers, you can control all these compatible smart devices however you like.
2021 has seen Google add to its list new compatible devices with more and advanced smart gadgets. The following are some of the best Google Home compatible devices;
>> Read the complete article on the blog
This Week’s Words of Wisdom 😊
Josh and Crestron
This story relates to high-end smart home installations. Within this space, a specialized vendor called Josh.ai offers a voice assistant platform. The company has been around for a while and has crossed my radar on various occasions. Not only are they providing sophisticated AI software, but Josh also develops various smart home speaker devices. From what I can read in this article, Josh has forged a partnership with one of the stalwarts in the home automation industry, Crestron. As a result of close cooperation between engineering teams in both companies, the resulting solution will allow homeowners to issue voice commands to their Crestron-enabled smart home. Pretty cool and pretty expensive setup!
Weekly Smart Home Voice Command! 🎤
OK, Google, raise the temperature 2 degrees
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– Gerard