Android By Russell Holly Dec. 18, 2013 9:30 am
There are a lot of exciting companies and technologies in the home automation arena right now, but there are still plenty of problems that need to be sorted out when it comes to unifying those ideas into a single thought. A quick look at a new project from Google called EnergySense may point to the Mountain View company finally tackling the issue themselves.
During Google’s keynote presentation at their annual developers conference two years ago, several light bulbs and a small black sphere were brought on stage. Google demonstrated the beginnings of a smarter home where Android was the central command point. The Android@Home project never publicly got further than the release of the Nexus Q, which did not survive for very long and has now been replaced by the incredibly inexpensive Chromecast dongle in nearly every way.
It looks like the Android@Home project has shifted to thermostat control during the silence, the first evidence of which has revealed itself in the form of a screenshot of the Google Play Store.
Based solely on this screenshot, EnergySense appears to be a smart thermostat control app that allows the user to control the temperature of their home no matter where they are. Profiles are available for home and away, and a great deal of the UI seems to be gesture based.
According to a report from The Information, Google is not building their own hardware for the pilot program. The program itself consists of both Google employees and trusted testers who are testing its viability. There’s currently no word on whether or not the project will ever make it to a consumer release stage, but it does seem like Google has put quite a bit of effort into the project already.
Last year Google didn’t mention Android@Home on stage at all during their keynote. If nothing gets announced before Google IO this year it is entirely possible that Android@Home will either be a focal point for the presentation, or this could be the result of Larry Page putting more wood behind fewer arrows and focusing on a single aspect of home automation first.
Now read: Xiaomi’s DIY 802.11ac router ships with a screwdriver and anti-static gloves
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During Google’s keynote presentation at their annual developers conference two years ago, several light bulbs and a small black sphere were brought on stage. Google demonstrated the beginnings of a smarter home where Android was the central command point. The Android@Home project never publicly got further than the release of the Nexus Q, which did not survive for very long and has now been replaced by the incredibly inexpensive Chromecast dongle in nearly every way.
It looks like the Android@Home project has shifted to thermostat control during the silence, the first evidence of which has revealed itself in the form of a screenshot of the Google Play Store.
Based solely on this screenshot, EnergySense appears to be a smart thermostat control app that allows the user to control the temperature of their home no matter where they are. Profiles are available for home and away, and a great deal of the UI seems to be gesture based.
According to a report from The Information, Google is not building their own hardware for the pilot program. The program itself consists of both Google employees and trusted testers who are testing its viability. There’s currently no word on whether or not the project will ever make it to a consumer release stage, but it does seem like Google has put quite a bit of effort into the project already.
Last year Google didn’t mention Android@Home on stage at all during their keynote. If nothing gets announced before Google IO this year it is entirely possible that Android@Home will either be a focal point for the presentation, or this could be the result of Larry Page putting more wood behind fewer arrows and focusing on a single aspect of home automation first.
Now read: Xiaomi’s DIY 802.11ac router ships with a screwdriver and anti-static gloves
More...
