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 (HA) 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 applications being released that allow these devices to be used as the main control interface for control and automation systems.
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 (HA) 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 applications being released that allow these devices to be used as the main control interface for control and automation systems.
This, in turn, has started one debate: Can tablets or smartphones replace expensive proprietary devices and bring HA to the masses? This feature looks at why consumer-based devices are a great replacement for proprietary devices, with a main focus on iOS devices as these are currently more commonly used in the automation industry.
Advantages
- Cost: The first and most obvious advantage is the cost of a smartphone or tablet compared to a proprietary control device. A typical dedicated touch screen could cost well more than US$2,000, while an iPad — which is of similar size and capabilities to common touch panels — will cost under $500. When Android devices are brought into the mix, the cost becomes even lower, and in almost all cases, functionality is not only on par, but often better than that of proprietary devices.
- Availability: Complementing the cost factor is that these consumer devices are readily available from a number of different sources without the need for special accreditations or being locked into any single distributor. This means that when a device is broken, becomes faulty or needs to be replaced for any reason, it is much cheaper and more easily replaced than its proprietary counterparts.
- Device familiarity: According to Nielsen2, almost half (49.7%) of all US residents now own a smartphone. These consumers will be more than likely already familiar with iOS or Android devices. If they do not already use one of these, they will have seen them advertised and being used by others. This will ultimately mean that they are conditioned to the look and operation of these devices.
- Processing power: Most proprietary devices have built-in processors; however, the speed and power of these processors is severely lacking when compared with an iOS and most Android devices. They also have less memory and only small amounts of storage space for GUI files. This results in special programming being required to work around the limitations of the touch panels, while an iOS device can take almost anything an integrator can throw at it. With an average of more than 8 GB of storage space on today's smartphone or tablet, large GUI files can be stored on the device and media files can even be stored on the local device and streamed to a television, projector or other display.
- Additional features: Tablets and smartphones have additional features that can be taken advantage of in HA applications. The GPS can be used to implement interesting location-based features, and the accelerometer and gyro sensors can also be put to creative use to allow for display rotation and other specific actions based on user movement. Multitouch is another feature that is not widely included in proprietary devices; this is an extremely powerful feature that allows us to improve human-device interaction through using a different number of fingers to interact with the display.
.jpg)
- Existing infrastructure: In many circumstances, the customer will already have a wireless network set up in the house for file and Internet sharing. Because devices such as the iPad utilize standard protocols such as Wi-Fi, in most cases this network can be utilized to connect the mobile devices that will control the systems in the premises. This means there is no expensive special cabling required for network connectivity.
- Battery life: Battery life is a big issue when considering wireless devices. Apple devices actually have quite a good battery installed straight out of the factory. Frustrations of dead batteries will be kept to a minimum, and because they use Lithium-ion technology, regular charging cycles are not as important and can be charged via a dock whenever the device is not in use. In contrast to this, there have been some well-known battery debacles from some proprietary devices.