Want the lights to turn on when no one is home, or have your security cam start recording when the doorbell is pressed? That will soon be possible with the Nest Cam.
Nest is expanding the ecosystem of other-brand home-automation products that communicate with its thermostat, fire/CO detector and security camera.
The Google-owned company announced that more than a dozen companies have committed to adopting Nest’s Weave communications protocol over Wi-Fi and over the Nest-backed Thread wireless mesh-network standard. Yale will launch the first Weave-based product, the Linus smart door lock, in 2016.
Nest also announced that its camera API is available to developers and that the first products that integrate with Nest’s security camera will be available this month from August, Mimo, Petnet, Philips Hue and Skybell.
Here are the details:
Weave
The initial list of companies supporting Weave include Big Ass Solutions, Daikin North America, GE-brand lighting controls, Hunter Douglas, iHome, Legrand, LIFX, Lutron Electronics, P&G, Philips Hue, Rachio, Somfy, SkyBell, Tyco, and WeMo. In addition, Google’s OnHub router will work with Nest Weave in the future, the company said.
Nest’s Weave provides direct device-to-device communication across Wi-Fi and wireless Thread networks. The latter is based on the existing IEEE 802.15.4 wireless mesh-network standard that also forms the basis of the existing ZigBee wireless standard. To that, Thread adds such things as mandatory encryption, the elimination of a dedicated hub, and self-healing capability so that if one device fails, the whole network doesn’t fail.
Weave was designed specifically for such devices as low-power battery-operated sensors and for any devices requiring low latency. With a software update, existing devices can use Nest Weave to talk directly to Nest devices, Nest said.
Camera API
Nest’s security-camera API is available to developers, and the first products that integrate with Nest’s camera will be available this month.
Nest Cam is a Cloud-based video monitoring camera and cloud service that already works with other Nest products. The camera, for example, can automatically start recording when the Nest Protect smoke/CO detector detects smoke. With the API, however, other companies will be able to integrate their products with the camera.
The first companies to integrate with Nest Cam include:
–August, whose smart lock, when unlocked, will send a short animation to August’s smartphone app.
—Skybell, whose Wi-Fi video doorbell app will turn the Nest Cam on or off and will start recording video if Nest Cam senses motion when everyone is away.
–Mimo, whose baby monitor will activate the Nest security camera after sensing a baby’s motion, letting parents check on their child without getting out of bed.
—Philips Hue smart bulbs, which will turn on if Nest Cam senses motion when everyone’s away.
