Your iPhone could soon become the key to your home

I love J.A.R.V.I.S.; For me, it is not as much the character and witty lines, but more the technology (notion) itself. Imagine an efficient voice activated Artificial Intelligence (AI), assisting you with almost everything within your home or office.

Recently, we all got a glimpse of Apple’s interest in smart homes, through which you can control your appliances and more with your iPhone. With Apple’s HomeKit, users will be able to control their lights, doors, TV and thermostat, to name just a few. Inclusion of Siri means that users will be able to control devices through voice.

These services could be used individually or grouped together as “scenes”. For example, you can group a set of appliances to work together through a single command. A command like “Siri, get ready for bed” will dim the lights, lock the doors, and adjust the thermostat to a nice sleeping temperature.

In early 2014, we have seen Apple collaborating with Haier, a Chinese manufacturing company for the first ever smart air conditioner. The smart air conditioner (Tianzun) carried Apple’s Made for iPhone/iPad/iPod (MFi) sign. The remotely configurable Tianzun connects to Apple devices automatically over a WIFI network.

According to GigaOm, Apple is initially planning to launch a program that will encourage partners to launch devices that are Made For iPhone (MFi). These devices would be able to connect to a shared WIFI network, and could be controlled through a custom iPhone app.

The program seems similar to a certification program for different electric appliance manufacturers. These partners will manufacture devices ready to be used with the iPhone and Apple would create iPhone apps to control these appliances through a shared network.

This program may help Apple gauge the market needs and users’ interest. At the same time they may want to test this with different connecting technologies like iBeacon. Appliances equipped with Bluetooth and iBeacon will enable apps to carry out necessary tasks without even needing to touch your iPhone. Imagine a smart coffee machine sensing your presence between 8 to 9 AM in the kitchen and automatically preparing coffee, or when you enter a room, your iPhone sends signals (during night hours) to turn lights on and set the room’s temperature accordingly.

WWDC 2014 revealed Philips, Skybell, and Honeywell among others as Apple’s select manufacturing partners. These partners will have to go through Apple’s standard quality checks and privacy limitations to be able to manufacture products under MFi label. New privacy limitations will ensure strict control over the developers’ and manufacturers’ access to the technology and the quality of the resultant product.

Wrap Up

I hope I can get a smart home assistant (voice activated platform) to control the appliances in my home by the end of this year. That may not be as cool as J.A.R.V.I.S., but it still would be a huge step ahead for the smart home industry.