All items tagged with smart home (222)
NXP Software Development Kit with Apple HomeKit Support Now Available
November 6, 2017 by Cristina Costa

NXP Software Development Kit with Apple HomeKit Support Now Available

NXP Semiconductors announced that its Apple HomeKit Software Development Kit (SDK) now offers full support for home automation applications using HomeKit. NXP's HomeKit SDK now supports all Apple HomeKit transports, including Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) 4.2, Wi-Fi, Ethernet with iCloud remote access across NXP microcontrollers and microprocessors. The solutions enables Smart Home development with the most advanced security features.
Read more...
Google Unveils New Home Smart Speakers and Wireless Pixel Buds
October 5, 2017 by audioXpress Staff

Google Unveils New Home Smart Speakers and Wireless Pixel Buds

Google is all-in in its determination to compete with Amazon, Apple and everyone else on the hardware front. On the same day, Google unveiled its second-generation family of consumer hardware products, including new Pixel 2 smartphones, Google Home Mini and Max smart speakers, an all-new Pixelbook tablet/laptop, Google Pixel Buds wireless earbuds, and more. No longer releasing "reference hardware" for its software ecosystem, Google is apparently determined to emulate Apple's successful strategy.
Read more...
u‑blox Launches NINA-B3 Full-featured Bluetooth 5 Modules
October 4, 2017 by audioXpress Staff

u‑blox Launches NINA-B3 Full-featured Bluetooth 5 Modules

Swiss company, u‑blox, specializing in wireless and positioning modules and chips, announced the launch of its full Bluetooth 5 compliant NINA-B3 wireless MCU (microcontroller unit) module. Featuring Bluetooth low energy long range connectivity, high data transfer rates and supporting Bluetooth mesh and 802.15.4, NINA‑B3 caters to applications in smart buildings, smart cities, and the Industry 4.0, including home automation systems, sensor networks, and high-quality wireless audio applications.
Read more...
Amazon Announces New Amazon Echo and Echo Plus Smart Speakers and Introduces New Alexa Products
September 28, 2017 by Joao Martins

Amazon Announces New Amazon Echo and Echo Plus Smart Speakers and Introduces New Alexa Products

Amazon is not resting on its laurels in voice personal assistants. The company continues to severely undercut Google's ambitions with the Google Home, Assistant and Chromecast products, while jumping ahead to compete head to head with Apple and undermining Apple's plans for Siri and the smart home. The company just announced a completely revamped line of Echo speakers with lower prices and improved everything, as well as new classes of Echo devices.
Read more...
STMicroelectronics Introduces BlueNRG-MESH Bluetooth Mesh Networking Software Development Kit
September 27, 2017 by audioXpress Staff

STMicroelectronics Introduces BlueNRG-MESH Bluetooth Mesh Networking Software Development Kit

STMicroelectronics is empowering the next wave of control-by-phone innovation with new software for creating smart objects that connect using the latest Bluetooth wireless networking features. The company announced an all-in-one software package that enables creation of networked smart objects and accompanying mobile apps with support for the official Bluetooth SIG Mesh-networking specification, assuring end-product interoperability, enhancing ease of use, and market appeal
Read more...
Josh.ai Targets Smart Home Integration with Josh Micro
September 12, 2017 by audioXpress Staff

Josh.ai Targets Smart Home Integration with Josh Micro

Launched during CEDIA 2017 and already considered as Best New Product (CEDIA 2017 Awards), the Josh Micro is a new hardware programable controller that runs the Josh.ai software, combines a breakthrough far-field microphone for hands-free voice control and more. As the company states, Josh Micro is a new platform for the smart home, designed to be developer friendly and community-based, making its capabilities widely accessible to other developers.
Read more...
IFA 2017 Consumer Electronics and Appliances Trade Show Delivers
September 6, 2017 by audioXpress Staff

IFA 2017 Consumer Electronics and Appliances Trade Show Delivers

IFA 2017 has attracted more than 253,000 visitors to Berlin, as the power of innovation and brands yet again turned the event into the world’s most important tradeshow for consumer electronics and home appliances. With more than half of all trade visitors coming from abroad, IFA Berlin provided a huge boost for both manufacturers and retailers in the crucial run-up to the holiday period, which runs from Thanksgiving in the United States all the way to Christmas and the New Year.
Read more...
IEEE Publishes 802.11ah-2016 Standard Amendment Extending Range and Improving Energy Efficiency in the Sub 1 GHz Band
July 24, 2017 by audioXpress Staff

IEEE Publishes 802.11ah-2016 Standard Amendment Extending Range and Improving Energy Efficiency in the Sub 1 GHz Band

IEEE and the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) announced the availability of the IEEE 802.11ah-2016 standard amendment, providing for an extended range Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) in the sub 1 GHz band. IEEE 802.11ah-2016 significantly lowers propagation loss through free space, walls and other obstructions, and offers a networking alternative to augment the heavily congested 2.4 GHz band and the shorter-range 5 GHz band used today. This is critical for smart home and many other applications.
Read more...
Bluetooth SIG Adds Mesh Networking Capability to Standard BLE Ecosystem
July 19, 2017 by audioXpress Staff

Bluetooth SIG Adds Mesh Networking Capability to Standard BLE Ecosystem

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) announced that the wireless connectivity global standard now supports mesh networking. This enables many-to-many (m:m) device communications and is optimized for creating large-scale device networks, ideally suited for building automation, sensor networks and smart home solutions where tens, hundreds, or thousands of devices need to reliably and securely communicate with one another.
Read more...
Cirrus Logic Announces Voice Capture Development Kit for Amazon Alexa Voice Service
July 6, 2017 by audioXpress Staff

Cirrus Logic Announces Voice Capture Development Kit for Amazon Alexa Voice Service

Cirrus Logic introduced a development kit for Alexa Voice Service (AVS), optimized for smart speakers and smart home applications including voice controlled devices, hands-free portable speakers and networked speakers. With the Cirrus Logic IC and software design, the Voice Capture Development Kit for Amazon AVS helps manufacturers quickly get to market with new Alexa-enabled products that feature high-accuracy wake-word triggering and command interpretation even in noisy environments and during music playback.
Read more...