Wednesday, Oct 21, 2015
Dubai: Etisalat has upgraded its smart automation offerings by tying up with Poland-based Homengine Technologies.
The company had launched its first offerings at last Gitex.
Rashed Al Abbar, vice-president for consumer product innovation at etisalat, said that the Fibaro solutions from Homengine enable home monitoring, security and air conditioning management, allowing residential users the ability to monitor, automate, secure and control their homes remotely from anywhere and at any time using a phone, tablet or computer.
The app is available on Apple and Google apps stores.
The telecom operator has launched three packages — Eye Home with one controller, one door/window sensor, one motion sensor and one indoor camera; Cool Home with one controller and two thermostats; and Safe Home with one controller, one door/window sensor, one motion sensor, one water leak sensor, one smoke detector and one siren.
He said the new home automation systems will be available from October 25th across its retail stores in the country and later at all leading retail stores.
According to MarketsandMarkets consultancy, the global smart homes market was valued at $20.38 billion (Dh74.8 billion) in 2014 and expected to reach $58.68 billion by 2020. It is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 17 per cent between 2015 and 2020.
Even though many electronics companies have launched the smart home concept for a while now in the UAE, the industry still remains fragmented and there is no standard platform for home automation.
With the internet of things (IoT) gaining traction in the UAE, due to Smart City initiatives, home automation is expected only to rev up.
IoT is defined as the network of devices that contain embedded technology to sense or interact with their internal state or external environment.
The starting price range is Dh99 for the eye home package on a monthly basis for two-year contract and with an initial payment of Dh999 or a one-time investment of Dh2,187 while the cool home package costs Dh109 per month or Dh2,299 if gotten as a one-time investment. The safe home package costs Dh149 monthly or Dh2,749 as a one-time investment.
Al Abbar said that users can also buy additional smart home products like cameras, sensors or plugs and pay on a monthly basis.
He said the government is planning to make the smart home concept compulsory and called on landlords to embrace the technology.
By Naushad K Cherrayil Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2015. All rights reserved.
