Google Your Home

May 25, 2011

I bought one of the smart, Energy Star thermostats. Quite a mockery of technology, interface, and convenience. It takes two of my engineers to make the air conditioner cool the house. The unit is really smart, but once configured, the darned thing is an idiot savant.

Help may be on the way. Google’s technology can push the interface challenged thermostat vendors into the dust bin. “Google Wants to Control Your Home,” declares CNNMoney.

The article points to this year’s Google I/O conference, held earlier this month, where the company touted its Android@Home, a platform being designed to give you centralized control over almost all your electronics. This includes media devices, of course, but also your lights, cars, and major appliances. As leader of the project Joe Britt put it, they aim to position “Android as the operating system for your home.”

At the root of Google’s plan is that pesky proprietary software problem. They believe they can create the best way to get devices from different manufacturers to talk to each other:

Android@Home was developed as an open protocol that can be used by any connected device and controlled by any wireless device or computer — including non-Android devices like Apple’s iPhone or Microsoft’s Windows PCs. Google’s partners say that while they expect Android devices to be the first to use the new platform, other mobile device makers will follow suit. No date has been announced yet for when Android@Home will be available.

Google has many ambitions. Will this one be pushed through to fruition? The company does have some partners lined up for this enterprise, including Lighting Science, maker of LED lighting systems, and Life Fitness, who manufactures exercise equipment.

The idea has potential. Let’s see where it goes from here. I particularly like the possible integration of Google’s predictive analytics with my thermostat. Google will know what temperature is the best for me. I can hardly wait. What will Google tell my smart fridge and my smart microwave to make for dinner? Google will know best I am sure.

Cynthia Murrell May 24, 2011

Freebie

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under Business strategy, Google, News, Technology

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.