CES 2017: Home Automation Makes its Mark
January 4th, 2017 by Trey BarrineauCES 2017 lands in Las Vegas this week, and products related to home automation will have a major presence.
Starting Wednesday, about 3,800 exhibitors at CES 2017 will fill more than 2.6 million net square feet at multiple venues around Las Vegas. Of that group, about 200 companies that focus exclusively on home automation will take up 80,000 square feet of space at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, offering everything from solutions for monitoring doors and windows to robots that help out with housework.
Home automation is finding greater acceptance among consumers.
According to a recent report from Transparency Market Research, the global home automation market will grow 26.3 percent per year between now and 2020 to $21.6 billion.
“The smart home is in an early stage, where the primary perceived value is in the convenience of home automation,” said Jennifer Kent of Parks Associates, a consumer research firm. “Consumers are only now starting to conceive of the additional value derived when devices collaborate to deliver more intelligent services.”
However, security concerns might be a drag on even greater market growth.
Parks Associates recently announced new research showing that 60 percent of U.S. broadband households are concerned about the security of smart home devices.
“Privacy and support concerns are outpacing smart home adoption, which is currently at 26 percent of U.S. broadband households, and companies need to address these concerns to continue growth in these sectors,” said Stuart Sikes, president, Parks Associates. “2017 will offer companies multiple opportunities to take the lead in protecting consumer privacy and data.”
Parks also released the top 10 consumer Internet of Things (IoT) trends for 2017 ahead of CES. As far as applications that could be used with fenestration, the report says voice control is vying to become the primary user interface for the smart home and connected lifestyle. Additionally, the report finds that the smart home industry will continue to develop new products for security, peace of mind and energy management.
Speaking of security, products that protect the home are a big focus in home automation. For example, Kwikset is introducing its latest smart lock, Obsidian, at CES 2017. Obsidian is a slim, key-free smart lock for homeowners who love modern design and are interested in connecting their locks to their smart home automation or security systems. Obsidian will be available for purchase in Spring 2017.
Kwikset says Obsidian eliminates the need for traditional keys. It will be available with standalone and connected options, allowing users to lock and unlock their front doors using the touchscreen exterior or their smartphones. Obsidian with Z-Wave will be one of the first smart locks to feature the new Z-Wave 500 chipset, enabling an increased wireless range, better network security and enhanced encryption.
A new door and window sensor from Fibaro is another example of what’s hot in home automation for fenestration products. The Fibaro sensor is a dual contact and temperature sensor that can be placed on any door or window and comes in seven colors to match any décor. Using Bluetooth LE, the battery-operated is installed with double-adhesive backing and has a low profile. When used as part of the Apple HomeKit, the sensor plays an integral role in the safety, security and convenience of a home.
The new Seecurity system from Blink features door and window sensors as part of a package that includes high-tech cameras to monitor the home. The same goes for Ooma, a system with door and window sensors that also allows homeowners to place 911 calls remotely if they see something wrong.
Home automation isn’t the only construction-related area of interest at CES, however. There are also some high-tech tools for people in the industry.
FLIR Systems Inc. will launch five new thermal imaging cameras , including two new third-generation FLIR ONE thermal camera attachments for smartphones, two new dual sensor thermal cameras for drones, and a ruggedized compact thermal camera for home and building inspectors. All five products feature Lepton, FLIR’s thermal microcamera core, and FLIR’s patented multispectral dynamic imaging technology, which dramatically improves image quality and readability by dynamically embossing high-fidelity, visible-light details onto the thermal imagery. These devices can be used to spot thermal leaks around doors and windows.
The CES show runs through Saturday.
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