Heralded as the "Whole-House Control Product of The Year" by The Consumer Technology Association (CTA), Brilliant makes interacting with smart home devices simple with controls that are easy for everyone to access and use directly from the walls of a home. Brilliant replaces any existing light switch to give touch and voice control over smart home devices — from lights, music, climate, locks, and doorbells to whatever comes next. With Amazon Alexa built in, Brilliant enables voice control in any room without the need for voice appliances.
Aaron Emigh, the CEO and co-founder of Brilliant, came up with the idea for Brilliant when he updated his home with the latest smart home products and found the resulting experience sorely lacking. There was no solution that tied all the smart home products into one simple, ubiquitous interface, so he set out to make his own.
"The promise of the smart home that simplifies your life has remained unfulfilled. We have been forced into an unnatural method of control by using our phones to control our houses," says Emigh. "The smart home experience has been fragmented, and it has been difficult for friends and families to use the home. Brilliant is dedicated to elevating the smart home experience with effortless home control that is seamless, simple and accessible throughout the home for everyone."
A key differentiator for Brilliant controllers, available in four models, is the fact that Amazon Alexa is built-in, without the need for any additional hardware, so users can effortlessly control smart home devices using just voice. When users ask for anything, they get a verbal and visual response directly from the wall device. Also, the affordable price point for Brilliant wall plates, incentives users to install it in multiple rooms in the home, in order to get a whole-home experience, from controlling the music playing in different rooms, to remotely checking the temperature or the blinders at home via the Brilliant app for iOS or Android.
"Brilliant is a powerful home control system that builds Alexa into the walls of your house," adds Pete Thompson, Vice President of the Alexa Voice Service. "We are excited to help Brilliant create a simpler, more convenient smart home experience for customers."
The solution was initially designed to turn dumb light switches into smart lights and expanded from there. Not only Brilliant converts any wall-controlled light into a smart lighting controllable by touch, by mobile app, or by voice with Amazon Alexa, but it can be used to connect the building blocks for a smart home. Brilliant connects to other smart home products over WiFi, allowing anyone in the home to have touch and voice control over a wide range of products including Nest, Philips Hue, Ecobee, Ring, and more.
For music applications, Brilliant can control the entire Sonos Home Sound System, allowing easy access right on the wall. And Brilliant brings Amazon Alexa to any room, enabling verbal and visual responses to requests. It's the first Amazon Alexa compatible third-party device to offer visual responses directly in the wall of the house.
Every Brilliant wall plate includes a microphone and camera with a privacy shutter. When installing two or more, Brilliant can be used to make announcements to the entire house or as a video intercom between specific rooms. Users can also create a "scene" for every occasion, and activate custom experiences with a single tap or voice command to recall specific lighting, music, temperature, and other settings.
When Brilliant is connected to Ring, users can see who's at the door, and never miss a visitor or package. When connected with Nest, users can adjust the temperature from any room, quickly adjusting the temperature with touch or voice control. And since there's a 5" diagonal LCD (720x1280 resolution) full color screen on any Brilliant wall-plate, users can add their own personal touch and upload family photos, art, or seasonal themes. When users are out of home, Brilliant can be remotely controlled from anywhere with Android and iOS apps.
Installing Brilliant is as easy as installing a light switch and takes just minutes with no additional wiring, modifications, or remote servers required. It supports 120V power grids, and comes with support for Wi-Fi up to 802.11n, and Bluetooth (to connect Brilliant if Wi-Fi is not present). Support for Apple HomeKit is planned for a future update. Brilliant is designed to evolve with the home and adds support for new devices over the air.
Currently, Brilliant works with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Sonos, Nest, Ecobee, Honeywell, Ring, Philips Hue, and Wemo lights and smart plugs, and more are being added constantly. To connect smart locks, Z-Wave, or Zigbee products, Brilliant supports hubs such as Samsung SmartThings. Brilliant can also connect directly to bridge products from Philips Hue and others. Brilliant also plans to have Google Assistant capabilities built in the future, but the system can already interface with Google Assistant devices.
Starting at $299, Brilliant comes in six colors to blend into any decor seamlessly. It is available to purchase at www.brilliant.tech
