14Jul

In part 2 of our interview with Jarrod Bell, he answers some questions about the current state of the home automation and control industries. So take 5 minutes out of your day to see where Jarrod thinks the industry is heading. ... read on »

17Dec

With the rise in popularity of Apple’s ‘Siri’ voice control, it was only a matter of time before voice control was tried in home automation environments. Recently we have seen a number of videos demonstrating voice control for home automation.

Individuals and companies have been experimenting with voice control for a while now. Even we (CommandFusion) have a module that makes use of Apple’s voice recognition system which allows implementation of voice control in iViewer and many people do use it.

But is voice control practical? Is it really going to be the revolution in home automation that some people seem to think it will be and change the way we control our homes forever? Or maybe it’s a passing fad or a useful tool…but for limited applications? ... read on »

11Jul

MISCONCEPTIONS

In Part 1 of this series we looked at the advantages of using smartphones and tablets in home automation systems, in Part 2 we looked at the disadvantages. Today we take a look at the misconceptions.

Along with the valid arguments for each side, there are some misconceptions that are simply incorrect and should be put aside when considering a tablet or smartphone. ... read on »

05Jul

In part 1 of this article, we looked at the advantages of using smartphones and tablets as control devices in a home automation systems. On top of the numerous advantages, there are a number of disadvantages that may affect the decision of whether to use a smart phone/tablet or a proprietary device. These disadvantages can be addressed and most times removed all together if approached logically. ... read on »

02Jul

The Rise of the Consumer Mobile Device

Up until recently, integrators and end users had no choice but to use a dedicated and often proprietary touch panel to control their home automation or control system if they desired a comprehensive control interface.

Since the release of the first iPhone, iPad, and android devices, we have seen an explosion in the number of devices being sold and also in the number of applications released (such as CommandFusion's iViewer 4 ) that allow these devices ... read on »