Leading Manufacturers Form Alliance to Deliver Safe, Interoperable Appliances
By Abraham Joseph -
4 January 2022 – Seven leading manufacturers in the connected home space today announced the launch of the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA) to provide consumers with safer, simpler and more interoperable options in their connected home.
The seven founding members of the HCA are:
- American Standard Heating and Air Conditioning
- Arçelik
- The Electrolux Group
- Haier
- GE Appliances
- Samsung, and
- Trane Residential
Device interoperability to expand consumer choice
HCA’s goal is to provide consumers with more choices for their connected home through C2C (Cloud-to-Cloud) interoperability, supporting the compatibility of devices across brands.
Yoon Ho Choi, President, Home Connectivity Alliance and Global Head of Planning & Partnerships, Home IoT Business, Samsung Electronics (above), said: “A simple and secure connected home has been a long-standing dream for the industry, and it is time to make it a reality. Consumer homes are filled with long-life appliances and systems from multiple manufacturers. Consumers should have the flexibility to purchase and use multiple brands of appliances that work together and not be locked into a single platform.
“We believe that manufacturers who truly understand their consumers’ needs, will lead the way in building an interoperable connected home ecosystem.”
Uncompromising safety and data privacy
Along with interoperability, consumer safety and data privacy are key pillars of HCA’s mission. Driven by the exponential growth of big data, consumer privacy and data protection have become top priorities for device manufacturers. New smart features on connected devices (like remote diagnostics, remote start/stop, etc.) provide a new layer of convenience. However, unauthorized access to such features would lead to consumer dissatisfaction and mistrust. Connected device manufacturers hold the responsibility to protect consumers from these risks and to safeguard data generated by these devices.
In addition, complex smart devices with moving and mechanical parts–including those with high voltage electrical components and heating elements–require safety expertise from companies that understand these devices best. Leveraging the collective background, experience and knowledge across its manufacturer membership base, HCA will prioritize consumer safety in the digital landscape.
Katherine Shin, Secretary at Home Connectivity Alliance and Vice President of Customer Experience for the Residential HVAC and Supply business at Trane Technologies, provides said, “Forming this alliance allows us to re-envision the power of smart and personalized comfort. Imagine a scenario in which your home appliances and HVAC system recognize your family’s lifestyle patterns and automatically adjust their settings to maximize comfort, reduce energy consumption, and deliver the ideal smart home experience. Not only is this beneficial for the consumer; utility companies can better manage peak demand and manufacturers can provide more energy-efficient products. Together we are building a more sustainable future.”
“We also recognize that smart products collect a lot of data, which makes this scenario possible, yet must be utilized in a secure environment. HCA aims to be the collective voice for home electronics data privacy, where we will agree upon industry standards to protect our consumers’ data.”
Innovation and thought leadership in the connected home space
HCA members have the opportunity to innovate, influence industry trends, share expertise across peers and become leaders in expanding the connected home ecosystem.
Through collaboration with other standards organizations and governing entities, HCA promises to foster fair competition and drive innovation to provide the safest, most feature-rich connected home experience for consumers.
Nihat Bayız, Chief Production & Technology Officer at Arçelik said, “As a technology first business and a trusted lifestyle solutions provider, Arçelik is proud to be a founding member of the Home Connectivity Alliance, working alongside other leading global brands to create a seamless smart home ecosystem. In an increasingly data-driven and digital world, consumer safety needs to be prioritized. To help tackle these areas and safeguard customer data, we’re excited to support cross platform interoperability with HCA cloud-to-cloud scheme that is set to not only make our users’ lives easier, but also help them feel more secure in their digital homes.”
Ola Nilsson, Group CXO and Executive Vice President, The Electrolux Group said,
“Electrolux is focused on sustainable consumer experience innovation that can help shape living For the Better. As the number of connected products continues to grow in homes across the world, the need for cross brand interoperability increases to enable great consumer experiences. This is why we are happy to be part of HCA.”
Shawn Stover, Vice President, SmartHome Solutions, GE Appliances said, “Delivering continuous innovation has become critical in today’s digitally oriented world. The HCA will focus on the longer lifecycle of durable goods, how they integrate in someone’s home and their everyday life. Flexibility and interoperability will be synonymous with the connected home and the work of the HCA will help enable ongoing innovation for cornerstone appliances and systems within the home.”
Jerry Liu, Global Chief Digital Officer, Haier Smart Home Co said “The home appliances are important for everyday life. They have unique characteristics and requirements in the connected home environment. We’re glad that HCA is going to create a collective voice of the industry. Haier looks forward to contributing its deep expertise on appliance connectivity, data security and physical safety with HCA member companies to provide global customers a better experience.”
To learn more about the Home Connectivity Alliance, membership benefits and how to join, please visit www.homeconnectivityalliance.org.
Source: Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA)
Samsung Electronics Wins Over 100 Awards CES 2016
8 January 2016 – Samsung Electronics today announced that it won more than 100 awards in key categories including Internet of things, home entertainment, and home appliances and mobile, at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
CES is one of the premier global gathering places for companies involved in consumer technologies and this year hosted more than 3,600 exhibiting companies.
Organizations and publications at CES continue to recognize Samsung as the leader in the consumer electronics, spanning the home entertainment, mobile and home appliance categories.
Among Samsung’s CES 2016 award wins are 38 CES 2016 Innovation Awards, including a Best of Innovations Award in TV. Further building on a momentous year, Samsung was also named the recipient of a number of media and industry awards, selected by organizations in attendance.
“Samsung continuously strives to provide consumers with innovations that matter to help them connect their busy lives with their friends, family, co-workers and even their appliances in meaningful ways,” said Gregory Lee, President and CEO of Samsung Electronics North America (above). “It’s an honor to receive recognition both from CTA and the industry and we can’t wait for the products showcased here to be part of a consumer’s everyday life.”
Samsung’s award winning products for 2016 include:
- The Galaxy TabPro S, which garnered more than 10 wins, including Digital Trends Top Tech of CES, TechRadar’s Best of CES award, Engadget’s Best of CES finalist, PCMag’s Best of CES in the Tablet category and TechnoBuffalo’s Best of CES award
- The new ultra-lightweight Notebook 9, which was named TechnoBuffalo’s Best of CES and Pocket-Lint’s Best Laptops and Tablets of CES lists
- The palm-sized Portable SSD T3, which received the Techlicious Best of CES award
- The KS9500 Series Curved SUHD TV, the World’s First Bezel-Less Curved TV, which earned Reviewed.com’s 2016 Editors’ Choice award, HD Guru’s CES Top Picks award and TechRadar’s Best of CES award
- The 4-Door Flex Refrigerator with Family Hub, which received more than eight awards, including Reviewed.com’s 2016 Editors’ Choice award, Men’s Health Best of CES, Tom’s Guide Best of CES for Best Smart Home Device and Mashable’s Best Tech of CES award
- The Front Load Washer with AddWash, which collected the Reviewed.com Editors’ Choice award
For more information on Samsung’s success at CES 2016, please visit: www.samsung.com/global/ces2016..
Source: Samsung Electronics
OORT starts partnerships with CISCO, Intel & Deutsche Telekom
22 July 2015 – OORT, a company which helps manufacturers transform their devices into smart, connected ones, was selected from among hundreds of companies from Europe, Middle East & Africa and won an international acceleration program – Challenge UP! As a reward, OORT enters into business cooperation with CISCO, Intel & Deutsche Telekom.
The purpose of the Challenge Up! is to support innovative IOT start-ups and help jump start their commercialization efforts. Winners of Challenge Up! are invited to joint projects with the three global corporations and get access to their resources and know-how.
OORT had gained interest of the organizers thanks to the unique end-to-end solution for transforming ordinary consumer electric devices into connected ones, and thus enabling the manufacturers to rapidly prototype and introduce new cutting edge IoT-enabled products.
"Our technology can transform any device into a smart, connected one. Those connected devices create new opportunities for manufacturers – from understanding how the devices are used through data, to opening a new 1-on-1 communication channel with the end-used of a product, which can lead to cross-selling and up-selling opportunities" – according to Radek Tadajewski, OORT CEO (above). "We believe that the jury of Challenge Up! truly appreciated our vision for quick adoption of IoT on the global scale. There are a lot of synergies between OORT and the organizers of Challenge Up!” he added.
The cooperation between OORT and Cisco, Intel & Deutsche Telekom started immediately after the winners were announced.
In not too distant future, customers should see new intelligent devices with OORT & Intel Inside labeling, which communicate through a Cisco cloud and are sold by Deutsche Telekom – said Tadajewski.
About OORT:
OORT is a global Internet of Things company whose unique technology enables users to control devices in their living or working environment with a single mobile app. OORT works on the consumer market providing innovative smart home systems as well as institutional: letting manufacturers change their existing products into smart ones and providing dedicated IoT solutions.
OORT has won many global awards, including Bluetooth Breakthrough Award, IoT Trailblazer Award, and Envisioneering Innovation & Design Award.
www.oort.in
Source: OORT
Z-Wave smart home system operated by smartphone or tablet developed by tapHOME
Milpitas, California, USA – New Z-wave alliance member tapHOME has developed a home control system which requires only a smartphone or tablet in order to set up and operate it.
