International. ABB brought to market a series of new solutions that expand the range of possibilities of comfort, efficiency and convenience in present and future smart homes.
On the occasion of the IFA consumer electronics trade fair in Berlin, ABB's Niessen business area highlighted how the Internet of Things, Services and People is capable of shaping a fully connected home. Among the most outstanding novelties are the launch of wireless home automation free@home, the expansion of the mozaiq platform and the integration of solar energy in smart homes.
According to the digital research service BI Intelligence, everything indicates that the home automation market will grow around 490 billion dollars in 2019, which represents an annual growth rate of 50% and, thanks to its new products, ABB is ready to respond to the needs of owners, architects and developers.
Earlier this year ABB announced the development of a wireless solution that can be used as a standalone solution or as an extension of the wired version of free@home. This circumstance offers the possibility of using free@home in rental housing or in other situations in which the owners do not want a wired solution. Free@home can manage up to 60 home automation functions ranging from lighting, entertainment and heating equipment, to security and shutter control systems, and can be configured to play pre-configured 'scenes' that change the look of a room drastically and instantly.
Thanks to its ease of use, ABB's free@home solution has been distinguished with numerous awards, including the German Design Award 2016 (special mention), the Ausgezeichnete Gestaltung 16, the Deutscher Designer Club (DDC), the iF Design Award 2016 and the German Brand Award 2016, in the Gold category.
ABB collaborates with Bosch and Cisco in the mozaiq operations GmBH joint venture with the aim of driving advances in the field of interoperability of home automation functions. ABB has highlighted the potential of the mozaiq platform with the introduction of new features that are under development.
He also showed how his solution can free@home be integrated with Bosch appliances. These areas, once separate, have now merged into the mozaiq platform and allow home automation to be incorporated into household appliances. Thanks to this system, it is possible to monitor the condition of the refrigerator or dishwasher sitting comfortably on the sofa or even remotely.
The coffee maker can be turned on from anywhere and, when we leave the house, we can give the instruction to turn everything off and apply it to all the appliances in the house and to the rest of the 60 home automation functions. The advantage lies in the possibility of viewing all devices and other functional equipment together in a single interface, thanks to the open software platform.
