"home automation" articles

With news that Amazon is officially sold out (online) of Echo and Tap products until after the holidays, it looks like the smart speaker with personal assistant technology category has found its legs. Parks Associates forecasts 6 million U.S. sales for the category in 2016, which would double U.S. sales from 2015. Several trends are driving the smart speaker/personal assistant device market. First, consumer familiarity and use with personal assistant software are one the rise,...

Earlier this month, details of Microsoft’s "Home Hub," a Windows 10 feature, were detailed by various news outlets as a possible move by Microsoft to get its Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution in consumers' homes. If this update will indeed let Cortana be a part of the smart home, Microsoft will join Amazon, Google, and Apple who all offer voice-controlled, virtual assistants for the smart home. As a potential competitor to Amazon, Google, and Apple in the smart home...

Descriptions of Microsoft’s upcoming Home Hub are surfacing, joining the debate over which voice control hub to buy—Amazon Echo or Google Home. Microsoft’s version, however, won’t be delivered in the form of a coffee table or bookshelf cylinder. It will be delivered as a feature of Windows 10, running on a PC or Surface tablet. The fact that Microsoft is delivering its product in the form of software suggests that it be accelerating this evolution of device interfaces to...

Before attending CONNECTIONS™Europe  in Amsterdam, Jérôme Arnaud , CEO at DORO AB, provided industry insight: What challenges does Europe face with rolling out new smart home products and services? At the heart of smart home connectivity lies Telecare. We see the Telecare industry migrating from analog technology to digital and mobile technology. This migration will not only upgrade the system and improve security, but also create a platform for richer...

Parks Associates, the leading IoT research firm, today announced the 2017 Advisory Board for the eighth-annual Smart Energy Summit , taking place February 20-22, 2017 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, Texas. Advisory Board members help shape the agenda and topics by providing specific feedback to agenda topics, event participants, and the overall focus of the event. Participants include: Alarm.com – Roy Perry, Vice President, Ecosystem Alliances Centrica Connected...

IoT devices are projected to diffuse exponentially from their current penetration by a wide variety of sources, with an estimated 50 billion connected devices by 2020. Among those sources is the home services marketplace, which totaled $319 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach $365 billion in 2018. Monetization of connected products  using new models is a significant opportunity. The value of the lead generation that IoT solutions provide to home service contractors is one...

Safety and security in the home has expanded beyond the long-term mainstays of burglar and fire alarms. There are now varied smart home devices that provide security and safety in the home  as well as convenience and peace of mind for the consumer. Key industry players are leading various sales channels for these devices, with security system providers at the forefront of that effort. Security system providers represent the sales channel for about one-third of all the safety...

Last week, Appliance Design magazine hosted a webinar focused on best practices for appliance manufacturers to consider when incorporating IoT features in their appliances. The discussion included speakers, Brad Russell , Research Analyst of Parks Associates, and Justin Ruiz, Product Marketing Manager of Ayla Networks. Before exploring the smart home arena, manufacturers who consider designing, building, and selling IoT connected appliances must understand the current landscape...