The smart home is progressing quickly in 2022, and CES covered this topic in a conference session called “Building a Resilient Smart Home.” Hosted by Mitch Klein, executive director at the Z-Wave Alliance, the panel included both security and lighting professionals, including Dr. Haim Amir, CEO and Owner at Essence, Avi Rosenthal, partner at Blue Salve partners, and Melissa Andresko, chief corporate brand ambassador at Lutron Electronics Co., Inc.
Security, both from outside threats and from breaches of privacy, were at the forefront of this talk. Homeowners want to know that their homes and their belongings are safe, and they appreciate full control of their home’s entrances and exits. There is now technology from Lutron that enables the home to randomly lower shades and turn lights on and off to mimic someone being home, which reinforces the security system’s motion sensors and cameras.
There is also emerging security for inside the home when it comes to safety. Technology can monitor a loved one’s movements in the home, such as an elderly parent living on their own, to ensure that they haven’t wondered off or fallen. It can also notify homeowners when a door opens and a child walks out.
This comprehensive system would be impossible without interoperability, which is where Matter comes in.
“When you move from a smart home to an intelligent home, it’s no longer about just command and control, but it’s about the home anticipating your needs,” said Rosenthal. “That’s where the holy grail of true interoperability comes from.”
Matter is a new standard that what we call an application later. It will reside over numerous protocols to allow those protocols to talk with one another. According to the panel, it is exciting because of the many companies involved. If products are able to better talk with one another, it makes it easier for the consumer and makes it possible for the smart home to continue growing.
“It’s about learning about the customer, and what are those integrations that are most important to them,” said Andresko. “We want to understand and satisfy the needs of every customer, because every journey is going to be different as people put these products into their home.”
