Taking a page out of the Sling book, Krikorian’s app, called R2, works from anywhere in the world. Just like Sling lets you watch or control your San Francisco television set while you’re in London, so, too R2 will allow you to adjust your home heating, air conditioning, lighting (go on, startle that burglar) and security system.
Krikorian first showed off the R2 last September, and is officially releasing it tonight. The R2 connects Android phones and devices to Cestron brand home and building control systems, via cellular networks or WiFi. In an email to SmartPlanet, Krikorian points out that Cestron is the long-running home control market leader in the U.S.
“In the past, customers have purchased proprietary touchpanels (I'm sure you have seen these ugly things in meeting rooms or possibly in some homes) which communicated over proprietary networks and protocols to Crestron control processors (essentially a dedicated computing device), which in turn controlled literally tens of thousands of different devices and systems (e.g. HVAC, Multizone Audio, Lighting, Security, etc),” he says.
“Up to this point, the home automation/building control has lived at two ends of the market: 1) the proprietary and high cost solutions for the high-end luxury homes, corporate board rooms, control centers, and college campuses, and 2) the hobbyist / geek world,” he continues in the email. “There have been many attempts at bringing home automation into the mass market over the years, and while it has not yet broken through, I truly believe we are on the brink of something big here.”
Krikorian developed R2 through id8Group Productions, a research and development company that is part of his id8 Group Holdings, the same company that developed the Slingbox and spun out Sling Media. Satellite TV company Echostar acquired Sling Media n 2007. R2 is id8’s first commercial product since the Slingbox.
It will compete against other apps already available for Windows and Apple devices.
"We are thrilled to have the opportunity to collaborate with an innovator like Blake and become the first control system provider to officially support Android,” says Fred Bargetzi, Crestron vice president of technology. “Many of our customers have been requesting Android interoperability in addition to our currently supported third party OS platforms such as iOS, MAC OSX and Windows.”
I first met Krikorian five years ago in Cannes, France on a spring morning after he had stayed up until dawn watching his beloved UCLA Bruins basketball team lose the NCAA championship game – via a Sling connection in his hotel room. Krikorian is obsessively committed to his passions – he invented the Sling Box with his brother so that they could watch San Francisco Giants baseball games while travelling.
The same sort of self-interest inspired the R2. "In addition to being able to control aspects of my home via Crestron remote controls and iOS devices, I really wanted to be able to use my new Android-based phone,” says Krikorian. “Additionally, I desired a software platform would allow me to further optimize the home control experience for general purpose smartphones and tablets, beyond the industry's current state of the art. R2 and Android provides the flexibility to do just that."
With that kind of dedication to his tasks, I give R2 a good chance.
Photo: CNET
This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com
