The capital this week will again be home to yet another IoT summit, this time focused on the smart home space. The Smart Home Summit will see companies like AT&T, ARM, Samsung, Deutsche Telekom and Bosh taking part.
In the run up to today’s event, Jon Carter, UK head of business development at Deutsche Telekom, told CBR: "The proliferation of new and exciting technologies in the smart home space is beginning to inspire a new style of living.
"Experiencing innovative lighting, alarm systems, heating, entertainment and home appliances, consumers are engaging in a more comfortable, efficient and cost-effective connected lifestyle.
"The technology is in place to transform consumer lifestyles forever."
CBR has put together 5 things to expect from London’s Smart Home Summit.
1. Business opportunities for the connected home
Speaking at the event, Carter will reveal new business opportunities for the connected home at the ‘Creating an Open Approach to Take the Smart Home to the Mass Market’ keynote.
He will highlight its efforts to take connected home services from niche to mass market; and share examples of the use of open platforms to accelerate innovation, reduce go-to-market time for new services and encourage new partners.
In terms of implementation, Deutsche Telekom believes that the connected home requires an open and agile platform.
2. 2.5m Western European smart households by 2019
Presenting at the event in Canary Warf, Stuart Sikes, president of consulting company Parks Associates, will discuss his company’s latest research findings which predict that 2.5 million Western European households will have a smart home controller by 2019.
Sikes said: "Smart home systems will need the flexibility to deliver multiple value propositions within the household. Interoperability is necessary to achieve recurring revenue models as it enables devices to deliver a broad array of value-added services and features."
Sikes also said that the key challenges in the smart home include low consumer awareness and lack of a concise value proposition.
3. Smart homes success down to three factors
Also attending the summit will be Jean-Marc Prunet, CEO of smart home solutions firm Myfox, who will discuss the fast evolving smart home industry.
Speaking to CBR, he said: "One of the most interesting developments is the reality that smart Home technology for homeowners is finally within grasp, thanks to three key factors."
Prunet outlined the three contributing factors to CBR; smart home products having matured, industry investment from well known brands, and ecosystems such as Apple HomeKit and Works With Nest.
4. Making UK smart homes a reality
With the UK in a better position than many other countries in the IoT space, British Gas will deliver a keynote on how to Make the Truly Connected Home a Reality in the UK.
Nina Bhatia, MD for commercial and connected homes at British Gas, will speak on the first day of the event and explain how customers can be given control of their homes.
She will focus on transforming businesses through innovation, adding incremental benefit to the core revenue stream, end-to-end control over creation and delivery of new products and services.
Lastly, Bhatia’s keynote will focus on how to take smart home services to the mass market and allow the UK to be a strong adopter of solutions in this space.
5. The impact of connected lighting in the smart home
A technology at the core of the smart home, Royal Philips will speak about connected lighting and discuss the impact of such lighting in the smart home.
The company will explain the birth of Hue, which the firm says is the world’s first internet connected light bulb, and why there is much more to lighting than illumination.
Sridhar Kumaraswamy, business leader home systems at Philips Hue, said: "The IoT is all about using technology as an enabler to create meaningful experiences for consumers."
