Home Networking

One of the major challenges to creating the digitally networked home of the future is how to get various devices and applications to communicate with each other. But two German start-ups – Conrad Connect and iHaus – are working on apps that will control everything from ceiling lights to shutters, door locks to electrical outlet timers.

The Conrad Connect technology allows registered users to connect their household technology, represented by graphic symbols, in password-protected user accounts. The hope is that the technology will go mainstream in the near future. Conrad Connect Director Andreas Bös says that “it’s no longer only permissible for nerds to develop and steer smart house technology.”

The IHaus system is similar, and the smart phone app is available in a basic version free of charge. Its software intelligence is capable integrating thousands of household features and appliances, from door handles on up to washing machines and photovoltaic banks.