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AV must include green concept

Voice commands, the Internet of Things and thinking about the relationship between the user and technology are some of the factors that will mark the development of home automation in the coming years.

Richard Santa

Unlike the commercial AV sector, which is constantly growing but changing the concept, home automation, as a control solution, has mutated into a digital signal management solution. That is its true application and value. This is how Román Ceriani, CEO of Icap Ibérica, defines the current state of home automation.

In conversation with AVI LATINOAMÉRICA, the director of Icap, a company with an important participation in the Latin AV world and with extensive experience in the residential sector, spoke about the state of home automation in our region and the trends in technology that we are living and that are coming in the near future.  He stressed that one of the most important changes in recent years is the role of the user.

- Publicidad -

"We are all the time perceiving the change in user behavior. There are more and more millennial users of technology who have different usage behaviors and who are promoting 'custom installation' installations more than anything. They depend on a home automation solution that has a user interface as similar to those they know, which are the interfaces of mobile phones. They intend functional solutions that respond to the activity they consider normal of their day to day, consistent with the way they enter the environments and that interact with entertainment and services, that is, with their home cinema, their music and, on the other hand, with the services that have to do with security, lighting and air conditioning," he said.

In that sense, home automation is no longer focused on the control platform of all services but on how the user interacts. And this is the challenge. That's why we talk about the internet of things and connected homes. The challenge for integrators is to understand how intelligently the user communicates with those devices and applications. From home automation, solutions adjusted to today's needs have to be created.

He added that "when a user enters an environment, many times they solve their things from their mobile or can do it from a wall keyboard or by voice control. This last option was one of the themes of Cedia 2016 and will be one of the great challenges for the integrator and the industry, because there will be many spaces where it will be very useful and others will not be natural its application".

Green AV Concept
Another of the changes that Román Ceriani considers fundamental for home automation is the way of thinking about projects. They must be approached as a platform for the home of the future, in terms of energy saving, recycling, a green world, not just comfort. An example is LED lighting, which generates energy savings and impacts on the environment.

"We have to think about home automation from comfort, service management, with the optimization of resources and a more current world, which takes care of the environment. The green AV is a concept that is beginning to be seen more and more and is related to the diversity of integrators. Ideally, I would like it to be seen much more and included among the solutions offered to users. They are elements that are incorporated into the lives of new users of technology, millennials and those who come behind, who make decisions thinking about the environment, "he said. 

To achieve this, the key is that developers have incorporated the concept of sustainability. Today you can and should think of buildings and homes that can grow and adapt according to how technology advances. And for this reason, proposes the director of Icap, we must migrate from the concept of technologies or brands to think about platforms and that these can be adapted to the future and needs.

"The green concept is what allows us to start thinking about these effects of what I'm designing. What is the impact on the environment and the medium- and long-term behaviors of the solutions? This makes us think of a new paradigm for design, conceiving this new construction with future adaptability."

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One of the obstacles to the implementation of the green concept in audiovisual projects is the short term of Latin American economies, due to its impact on the economic part of the project. It is also important that institutional actors are involved in this issue. Some international such as the Green Council, the Global Presence Alliance and others from each country such as government agencies. 

Trends 
As for technology, what is coming for the future of home automation are the right audio solutions for different spaces and services, the advent of voice control achieving value for users and, without a doubt, the internet of things. 

Román Ceriani stressed that "for me these three fronts are, the audio we are already living and the rest is on the way, they are presenting solutions. On voice control, it is about to check the value for different solutions and that the same thing will not happen as with gesture control, which failed because it was not natural for people. Virtual reality is another issue that remains to be seen, if it is an entertainment solution. In Cedia 2016 virtual reality had a minimal participation". 

Some control software manufacturers are partnering with voice control developers so that their processors can read applications that have to do with these devices and these actions and can integrate voice control into their existing systems.

The Internet of Things is another aspect that is influencing home automation. It is a real concept, which has been talked about for several years. And it is true that there will be more and more connected objects and that it is here to stay, but the spectrum of applications is so wide that for integrators the challenge is to know where the value is for a customer.

According to Román Ceriani, the Internet of Things is a huge concept that has a lot of strength but that generates a very deep commitment to find valuable opportunities for customers. 

- Publicidad -

"And we saw this in the launch of new products this year, such as Apple's Alexa, which is in the framework of the Internet of Things, with a family of actuators that will allow useful results for each person in particular. In the end, the new user will be the one to decide whether or not a solution is a success. It doesn't have the ability to create, but it can define and show the industry what the path is," he said. 

Home automation in Latin America
Residential solution integrators in Latin America are growing, both in knowledge and coverage. The development of technology has forced them to transition to a world of applications and they are doing well. In general, the integrator has changed its profile because of the way the user consumes it. There is an opportunity that is tied to change.

In this regard, Román Ceriani pointed out that "Latin America continues to be a step behind what happens in other countries. Getting closer and closer, but we are still behind. It has to do with the economic development of countries that remains uneven and do not have an established security in the medium term. Also, with the volume of the business developed. To develop a solution you have to have a business plan and visibility and many companies and industry players with possibilities give up because the immediate future is not assured."

The development of the industry is also linked to the issue of costs. The new trend in home automation means that in the market there are solutions of lower cost but that also provide comfort. The point is that there are many AV professionals who have not incorporated a control system losing all the benefits that this generates. 

The director of Icap Ibérica concluded that this is not the user's issue, it is the industry that needs to make better proposals. There are many opportunities, houses are built every day, but not all houses that are built receive a complete proposal of what are the services and benefits they can obtain with home automation. 

"It would be ideal that in Latin America we talk about long planning and short execution, but we know that reality does not respect this concept so much. Many times that relationship is complex and designers or architects try to avoid some solutions that require greater complexity, leaving aside that the user expects this type of services and solutions for a house today. "

Richard Santa, RAVT
Author: Richard Santa, RAVT
Editor
Periodista de la Universidad de Antioquia (2010), con experiencia en temas sobre tecnología y economía. Editor de las revistas TVyVideo+Radio y AVI Latinoamérica. Coordinador académico de TecnoTelevisión&Radio.

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