Mattel’s nabi® Brand Introduces Connected Kids Room Platform

January 12, 2017 Ruslan Ulanov 0

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Jan. 4, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Mattel’s nabi® brand, known for creating innovative high tech solutions for kids and families including the acclaimed nabi tablet line, will be unveiling its latest ground-breaking innovation at CES: Aristotle™—a first-of-its kind connected kids room platform developed together with technology heavyweights including Microsoft, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., and Silk Labs. Unlike other voice activated, AI-driven connected home platforms, Aristotle is designed with a specific purpose and mission: to aid parents and use the most advanced AI-driven technology to make it easier for them to protect, develop, and nurture the most important asset in their […]

Ex-Mozilla team behind smart home hub Sense refunds Kickstarter backers, focuses on software

June 8, 2016 Ruslan Ulanov 0

Earlier this year, a company called Silk Labs, co-founded by former Mozilla CTO Andreas Gal, unveiled its plans to address the smart home market with a hub called “Sense,” which interoperates with a home’s connected devices, while also automatically adapting to its owners’ patterns and behavior over time. The device was crowdfunded via a Kickstarter campaign, as a means of getting the developer community interested in building for the Sense software platform. Today, Silk Labs announced it’s abandoning its plans to sell its own hardware, and is focusing only on the software. It will immediately refund the Kickstarter backers who initially pledged to support […]

Google announces Google Home – a smart home assistant

May 18, 2016 Ruslan Ulanov 0

Today at Google I/O 2016 at Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, Google unveiled a new (much rumored about) piece of hardware that will tap into Google’s knowledge graph. The aptly named Google Home device will reside in your home and will assist you with your day-to-day tasks, give you information in a powerful conversational mode and (the drumroll) will control your smart home devices. The demo video showcased Google Home’s interaction with Nest’s thermostat, Google Chromecast and Android TV. On the outside, the device looks like a vase or a super-sized salt shaker. It could be customized with replaceable bottom grill to match […]

Projects on a final stretch

May 12, 2016 Ruslan Ulanov 0

Two of the projects I’m actively supporting are coming to the end of their crowd funding campaigns.  Protonet ZOE on Indiegogo is a dream come true for a smart home – a combination of IFTTT, Amazon Echo, Hue and SmartThings, but with one important difference. Protonet promises that all these features will run locally in your home, not in the cloud! So, all your data stays with you, and not with cloud overlords. And even if your Internet will go down your smart home won’t – now, how smart is that! Zoe will work with Z-Wave based plugs, switches, outlets, […]

Protonet ZOE announces a list of supported devices

April 29, 2016 Ruslan Ulanov 0

Protonet ZOE, the first home automation product built (or rather being built) with user’s privacy in mind, just announced a list of devices that system will support right out of the box. Among those are majority of standard-compliant Z-Wave devices, such as Z-Wave plugs, switches, outlets, sensors, locks and bulbs as well as some popular Wi-Fi-based devices, such as Nest, Sonos, Wemo and Echo. One other category of supported devices looks very promising – SMB-based storage devices. Potentially this will allow to store security camera captured images and other sensitive user data on your own home NAS instead of some third-party cloud server. The complete list […]

FlipFlic: Makes Window Blinds Smart

April 26, 2016 Ruslan Ulanov 0

FlipFlic™ is the smart blinds controller that automates ordinary window blinds in seconds and with no tools. It is compact, solar-powered, and easy-to-install. FlipFlic quickly converts any horizontal or vertical blinds into a self-adjusting, light, time, and temperature-responsive smart window. Installation of FlipFlic takes seconds. In one click, the small device about the size of a roll of quarters attaches to your window blinds magnetically. No tools needed! FlipFlic is absolutely autonomous. It has a built-in battery, recharged via micro USB with a solar panel. There is no need for power outlets or battery replacements. FlipFlic can be integrated into […]