Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the big happening in the tech world is the Google I/O conference. Used to showcase all of the latest and greatest innovations coming from Google’s software platforms, developers and hardware partners, Google I/O is, to coin a phrase, “something like a big deal”. Working with home automation in Perth gave me a full understanding of all the benefits you can get using modern technology at home. The biggest thing to come from the conference so far this year is Android@Home.
Android@Home is a software framework for Android that allows programmers to interact with various connected appliances like washing machines, light bulbs and more. Introduced by Joe Britt, Google’s engineering director, Android@Home uses an open wireless protocol that allows the Android Operating System to connect with any device powered by electricity. An example of this would be an alarm clock application that raises the lights in a room while raising the volume on a stereo system.
Now something as encompassing as Android@Home is going to need partners and two such partners are Lighting Science Group, which is an LED company which will produce the first Android@Home LED light bulb by the end of the year and Hasbro, the toy manufacturer, who plans on making “robotic toys that can sense mood shifts”.
With a company as large as Google with their popular Android OS now leading the charge in home automation programs, and their more than 100 million active user base, I suspect home automation software will see quite the rise in popularity.