Homey brings your home to life. It can talk to many devices, and you can talk to Homey. Say what you want, when you want it, and Homey takes care of it. Homey learns your ways and predicts which things to do, to make you happy.
Homey isn’t the first crowdfunded home automation platform we’ve seen, but it is one of the most personable, the entire device is controlled by human speech. The device is designed to be compatible with almost any wirelessly controlled device, and has eight disparate radios covering WiFI, Bluetooth, Zigbee and infrared communication standards, among others. Homey includes 7 wireless modules that work on various frequencies and protocols, all integrated together in an intelligent and easy-to-use device with state-of-the-art speech recognition. And to make sure we don’t miss out on your older devices and television sets, we’ve added an Infrared Power-LED. Yes, you may throw away all your remotes now.
The Homey device is designed to mimic intelligent computers in Star Trek and while it might not be able to control a space ship, it can turn lights off, set music and preheat your oven by listening to commands. Say what you want, when you want it, and Homey takes care of it. Homey learns your ways and predicts which things to do, to make you happy. The device can connect gadgets around the home with the internet, which will allow users to set their thermostat to the right level or preheat an oven on the way home from an app.
Read some of the smart scenarios that Homey can do. When you get home, your lights fade on, your thermostat is already set to a comfortable level and your favorite music is streamed to your receiver. When you need to wake up, the curtains or blinds are opening, your morning tune is playing on your stereo while the weather for today and your e-mails are being read to you. The smell of fresh and automatically made coffee gets you out of bed. Also, when you’re in the supermarket, you decide it’s going to be pizza tonight. You tell the Homey app to preheat your oven by switching it on. If you have a smart fridge, your grocery shopping list is sent to you.
Furthermore, Homey can create the right atmosphere when you want to watch a movie. When you are starting to watch the movie the blinds close, your lights dim, your music fades out, the TV is set to the correct channel and your media center plays the movie. Homey take cares of you and your house, when you leave your house, Homey tells you it’s going to rain soon, and reminds you to take an umbrella. Also, if you’re the last person to leave the house, Homey turns down the heat and switches all your lights and devices off to save energy. Finally, Homey makes sure that your front door is really locked.
As its designers said, Homey is an open platform so they can write new apps. This way, they keep their product and platform “future-proof”. They can easily add support apps for devices that don’t even exist yet.