Apple Homekit

[pvr4me]

I see that there have been a couple of earlier threads [1] that touched on compatibility with Apple's Homekit platform.

Homekit is Apple's entry into the home automation world:

http://www.apple.com/ca/ios/home/

Homekit is iOS only but that means there are currently somewhere north of 700 million iOS devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Apple TV) that already have the software frameworks installed. The big marketing push has been voice control via Siri. If you have the right accessories, you can say "Hey Siri I'm leaving" and ...
- the lights are turned off
- the thermostat is set in away mode
- the garage door is closed
- the front door is locked
- etc

Alternatively, you can control trigger this scene from the Home app or, easier, from the iOS Control Centre. Or it could be geo-fenced to trigger when you get a certain distance away from home. Homekit also supports recurring time-based triggers, etc. Apple keeps updating and expanding Homekit's capabilities each year. Apple's WWDC is coming up in June.

Honeywell is supposed coming out with a Homekit compatible security system:

https://www.honeywell.com/newsroom/pres ... le-homekit
(Scroll past the section on the new cameras.)

The Lyric Security System is apparently going to be wireless only and was expected to be released by the end of March 2017. Other than that, there is very little information the product.

I know some people are using TPI to interface via Homebridge back and forth to Homekit. With all respect for the folks that created Homebridge, that just isn't a long term solution. One of Apple's key planks for Homekit is security. Every Homekit accessory device has to use an Apple-designed chip that provides high-security encryption. I don't know how Homebridge gets around that but I believe the project is one security update away from being dead in the water. In fact, I'm surprised that Apple has tolerated it for so long.

The opportunity for EyezOn is to create an EnvisaLink Homekit product including Apple's chip and supporting the Homekit Accessory Protocol. That's not a small undertaking but if even 1% of Apple's iOS customers are in a home with a compatible security system, that's a potential market of 7 million customers! (I'm one!) Big enough to be worth thinking about, it seems to me.

Craig

[1] http://forum.eyez-on.com/FORUM/viewtopi ... b1bfc7df8a
http://forum.eyez-on.com/FORUM/viewtopi ... b1bfc7df8a

[pvr4me]

Bump?

[DigitalEntity232]

Bump x2!

[Belkbuzze]

Bump x3

Btw, you can hack something by integrating DSC with Smartthings using AlarmServer and integrating HomeKit to Smartthings using homebridge server. I have an old computer running both and it works well. Far from ideal to say the least but hey, it's working!

[sebbyg]

Apple has quietly opened up its HomeKit specification, allowing third-party manufacturers, like Philips and Honeywell, to connect to the Apple smart home offering through software authentication rather than needing a dedicated hardware chip.

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/141326- ... the-market