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How Bluetooth 4.0 Will Change Remote Control
Manage lights, TV, refrigerators and more through your phone or tablet when the latest wireless technology rolls into all your home devices
Houzz Contributor. I'm a Silicon Valley-based writer, columnist and blogger, covering technology and culture. http://elgan.com
Houzz Contributor. I'm a Silicon Valley-based writer, columnist and blogger,... More »
Wireless technologies have been transforming domestic life since the availability of home radios in the 1920s. Since then every new kind of wireless technology and every new application has brought more transformative changes to the home.
Television, for example, used to receive its signal wirelessly, which enabled its fast adoption in the 1950s. As the use of cable TV spread, transforming a wireless signal into a nonwireless one, wireless remote controls added another convenience.
Cordless phones changed when and where you could make and receive calls. Wireless garage door openers and other special-purpose wireless devices subtly improved people's lives in small ways. You probably have a Wi-Fi network in your home, which you use to connect computers, laptops, phones and possibly your TV to the Internet.
You probably also use another wireless technology called Bluetooth. If you have a wireless headset with your cell phone, or a wireless keyboard or mouse with your computer, you're using Bluetooth.
Both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are geeky technologies working invisibly and behind the scenes to subtly and profoundly change homes all over the world. They've eliminated cables, reducing clutter. And they've freed you to place consumer electronics devices anywhere.
Now a brand-new technology is about to really change things again.
Television, for example, used to receive its signal wirelessly, which enabled its fast adoption in the 1950s. As the use of cable TV spread, transforming a wireless signal into a nonwireless one, wireless remote controls added another convenience.
Cordless phones changed when and where you could make and receive calls. Wireless garage door openers and other special-purpose wireless devices subtly improved people's lives in small ways. You probably have a Wi-Fi network in your home, which you use to connect computers, laptops, phones and possibly your TV to the Internet.
You probably also use another wireless technology called Bluetooth. If you have a wireless headset with your cell phone, or a wireless keyboard or mouse with your computer, you're using Bluetooth.
Both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are geeky technologies working invisibly and behind the scenes to subtly and profoundly change homes all over the world. They've eliminated cables, reducing clutter. And they've freed you to place consumer electronics devices anywhere.
Now a brand-new technology is about to really change things again.
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| Why the new, improved Bluetooth will change your house. The fourth generation of Bluetooth technology is revolutionary. It's not just a little better than the Bluetooth you're currently using. It's massively better. Today most chatter about Bluetooth 4.0 is about advanced gadgets, such as the highly anticipated Pebble E-Paper Watch (shown). The device will use Bluetooth 4.0 to let you control your phone, as well as household appliances and media devices like your TV, from your wrist. Bluetooth 4.0 is also called Bluetooth Smart Ready, and one of the best things about it is that it uses much less power. If you use a wireless mouse or keyboard, you know that the batteries have to be changed or recharged every few weeks or, at most, every few months. Bluetooth 4.0 would enable them to never have to do anything with the batteries. These devices would be charged when you open the box and remain charged for more years than you would want to use them. This is great news, and not just for lazy wireless keyboard users. I'll tell you why in a minute. |
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| Where Bluetooth 4.0 comes from. Bluetooth 4.0 isn’t something you buy at the store. At some point, one by one, a gazillion gadgets will add or upgrade to the new technology. The most aggressive company to build Bluetooth 4.0 into its products is Apple. This is surprising, because Apple often lags behind other companies in the introduction of new standards and new technologies. The iPhone 4S was the first phone ever to support Bluetooth 4.0. The current iPad (shown in use above) is the first tablet to support it. In fact, every major Apple product, including desktops and laptops, shipped in the past year comes with Bluetooth 4.0 support. By the end of the year, we can expect every major Bluetooth device, from phones to tablets to peripheral devices, to support the new Bluetooth 4.0 standard. And that’s just the beginning. |
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| What happens when everything is connected. The reason Bluetooth 4.0 will completely change everything in the home is that it will accomplish the following feats: 1. It will replace proprietary technologies. A wide range of household gadgets, from TV remote controls to room temperature thermostats to doorbells, use nonstandard tech to communicate wirelessly. New capabilities in Bluetooth 4.0 will mean all these gadgets can just use the new standard. When that happens, you'll be able to easily connect to, monitor and control things with your phone and tablet. Current tablet products, such as Control4’s 7-Inch Portable Touch Screen (shown) use Wi-Fi or proprietary wireless technologies. Because of those technologies, the use of tablets for controlling things is rare. Bluetooth will make home tablet remote controls and control panels commonplace. 2. It will enable more things to be wireless. Bluetooth 4.0 will make it cheap and easy for companies to add wireless connectivity to random things: lamps, washing machines, refrigerators, coffee makers, air conditioners, ovens and much more. You'll be able to control and monitor things from your phone or over the Internet that you previously had to control by touching the object. 3. It will let you automate things. Once an appliance or piece of functional furniture can be controlled through Bluetooth 4.0, it can be easily automated. You just need the software to control it. Your smart phone and tablet are based on an "app" economy, so you can expect literally thousands of home-control apps to come on the market over the next few years. 4. It will help appliances talk to one another. With all your stuff connected via Bluetooth 4.0, the appliances in your house can talk to other appliances without your involvement. The thermostat can turn on the air conditioner. An incoming phone call can pause your TV show. The alarm clock by your bed can turn on the coffee machine. The cell phone in your pocket can turn on the lights in and around your house as you pull into the driveway. Futurists have been making bold predictions about the coming age of the “smart home” for decades. All these visions involve wireless technology for connecting devices to the Internet, to user control devices and to each other. Bluetooth 4.0 is that technology. And now it’s here. |
Ideabook updated on June 3, 2012.
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For those looking for a secure Z-wave home automation option, I would recommend Nexia Home Intelligence (www.nexiahome.com). It uses the same level encryption as banks, so it's completely secured. It allows you to connect with all kinds of appliances throughout your home from your phone. You can even receive text alerts when scheduled/non-scheduled events take place. So without even checking, your home is essentially reporting back to you what's going on.
Thanks for the great informative piece!
If its any consolation I found your article very informative and I thank you.
Its called the wife 1.0 :-)
Home Automation and the “Smart Home” concept have been around for some 40 years but never were able to cross the chasm from an industry niche of professional installation in high-end custom homes to mass market consumers. One reason is that any new device or change of behavior required the technician to come out and reprogram the house rules again.
A truly Smart home could address this problem with an awareness of its surroundings from various sensors for light, temperature, sound, motion, smells (smoke or CO2), etc. With artificial intelligence, it could then learn occupant behavior and preferences and adapt automatically or upon command (by voice, touch, button or gesture interface). And a Smart home could communicate in ways occupants prefer, on a device they have at the time. But there are still many problems with even that vision. See http://www.mhealthtalk.com/2012/04/smart-homes/.