Samsung launches Smart Home ecosystem to connect home devices

Samsung has launched a connected home ecosystem at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Samsung’s Smart Home system claims to connect home devices such as televisions, home appliances and smartphones through a single integrated platform. Users can control these devices through an application which connects devices in the home.

The application will allow users to customise device settings with their mobile phones or televisions to monitor and control connected devices on the home network. For example, users can switch on air conditioning via their Galaxy Gear smartwatch while on their way home from work.

The Smart Home will also feature a voice-command function so users can “talk” to their home appliances. For example, if a user were to say, “going out” into their smart device, selected appliances and lights would be turned off.

The system will also provide real-time views of the user’s home via cameras built into appliances, and could notify users when it is time to service appliances.

This is not Samsung’s first venture into the field of connected devices. Last year at CES, the manufacturer unveiled an internet fridge with an LCD screen for interacting with recipes and shopping lists. The appliance could also be used for watching television, or even used to keep an eye on children in a different room, by linking to a smartphone camera.

Samsung has now developed a dedicated Smart Home software protocol (SHP), which it believes is the foundation for an emerging ecosystem for connected home services.

Samsung said the system will start rolling out across Samsung devices in the first half of 2014, beginning with televisions, appliances and smartphones. But the manufacturer said it will also collaborate with third-party partners to include other branded products in the Samsung ecosystem.

Samsung will extend this service to include home energy, secure home access and healthcare applications through third-party suppliers.