BSH (Bosch und Siemens Hausger’te) has demonstrated the latest version of its Home Connect software at a press conference in the run up to the IFA exhibition in Germany. It claims that the system will be the first in the world that allows more than one brand of smart appliance to be controlled via a single app.
BSH claims that 90% of households own appliances made by more than one brand and that market research claims that the increasing number of smartphone users wants to use their phone as a control center. Home Connect hopes to ‘enable the remote operation and monitoring of different brands of connected household appliances.’
The platform will be fully unveiled at the IFA Consumer Electronics Conference in September this year, where it will then be rolled out in Germany and one as-yet-unnamed country.
The free Home Connect app needs a smartphone and a WiFi router to function. It currently only works on iPhones but an Android version will be released in early 2015. Additional brands of appliance will be added to the ecosystem from Q3 2015,
It has been designed as an open platform, which bodes well for consumer adoption and third party development. It remains to be seen whether this open approach will incorporate devices from other OEMs who have already announced their own smart home systems.
Both Samsung and LG, sizeable players in home appliances and TVs, unveiled their platforms at CES. The Samsung Smart Home system uses an app to let users manage devices via smartphone or smart TV. The service also plans to expand to cover non-Samsung appliances.
The LG equivalent derives its name from its SMS interface. HomeChat will let users send commands or ask questions to connected devices via text message. HomeChat currently requires the LINE messenger app to work, which is available on iOS, Android and Windows Phone. LG is also working on expanding language support outside of the initial English and Korean, and integrating HomeChat with other messaging apps.
Unlike the others, LG has not announced plans to integrate non-LG appliances. However, this situation perfectly demonstrates the problems that IoT at large faces. In this case, we see 3 different suppliers working on 3 separate systems that all intend to offer the same functionality ‘ and that’s before you consider other universal alternatives that would also cover smart home appliances, such as Qualcomm’s AllSeen Alliance and AllJoyn language.
The fractured state of the IoT communication protocol environment is perhaps the biggest obstacle to the widespread introduction of the technology in the smart home.
Consumers need a service that enables them to control all their appliances, as they own products from more than one manufacturer 90% of the time. If the Home Connect, HomeChat or SSH system is going to be adopted by consumers, it has to add value to the consumer experience otherwise it will be a wasted endeavor. But the smart home is an environment in which security and privacy are paramount to reassuring customers and winning their business.
BSH is being very upfront about the potential privacy and security concerns that the connected home and its app raise. Project leader Claudia H’pp said that ‘our approach to data protection is based on maximal transparency. We only use consumers’ data for improving our services and we have their express consent. We have developed a comprehensive security concept that anonymously stores only the most necessary data on the dedicated Home Connect server.’
With sales in 2013 of about 10.5 billion euros and a workforce numbering around 50,000, BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausger’te GmbH is currently the world’s third largest company in the home appliance sector. BSH manufactures its products in 40 factories, and with over 80 companies, has a presence in 47 countries.