Developing the first truly intelligent home system in Romania means many hours of teamwork. It means exchanging ideas, endless lines of code, hours of discussion (sometimes contradictory), failures, beginning all over again and, often, fun – all as a team.
In the past days, the VIKI team has managed to integrate the voice control facility into the application through Amazon Echo DOT. And this innovation was done as described above – with trials, failures and fun times. First, we had to establish a link to “Alexa” (the name given to the Amazon Echo DOT). Then we had to introduce Alexa to VIKI and get them to work together. Continue reading “What happens when VIKI artificial intelligence meets Amazon Echo Dot. VIDEO” »
The VIKI smart home protects the house and its stuff through a natively integrated function and, in case of alarm, all family members will receive notifications on their mobile phones.
It is important to know that the same sensors that control the lights or measure the temperature and humidity are also in charge of motions monitoring in the house. So, it’s not necesarry to invest in many more different systems (heating, air conditioning, humidity, security), which would come each with their sets of specific sensors, dedicated controller and communication system.
VIKI only uses one sensor, with multiple functions and capabilities, one analytic element (the house’s computer) and modern warning elements, already integrated in the house’s design – in this case, the TV set and the sound system of the house. All these lead to a substantial lower cost for the system, opposite to the case where each facility of the house would be run by a dedicated system.
Another different thing about VIKI, unlike other “smart” houses, is the way the warning message is communicated, in case of intrusion. It’s not a classic alarm that only makes noise; it’s an automated message that is broadcasted through the TV set and/or the house’s sound system. If there are more rooms in the house with VIKI multimedia, the message is broadcasted in each of them.
The warning message was conceived especially for VIKI by a psychologist, who delivered valuable information about the way the message must be transmited, the way it must be spoken, so that the effect of discouraging the intrusion attempt should be highest.
VIKI is the only smart home system that has a built-in security and active protection of the house function, even when we leave the pet inside the house. According to the option the user selects (see the video, at ”20), the house activates all the sensors, or just the perimeter sensors (open windows/doors), when the user leaves.
You can see in the video below how, after the users leave the house and the location is armed, all the consumers are turned off; the house switches to an energy saving mode, without the users intervention – they don’t have to manually turn off the lights or the TV or the heating system, when they leave.
VIKI (“The system for intelligent adaptation of the environment to the needs of users”) won the Grand Prize of the International Exhibition of Research, Innovation and Invention “Pro Invent” 2017, as well as the Diploma of Excellence with the gold medal. The event was organized between March 22 and 24, 2017 by the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, under the aegis of the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Research and Innovation.
Developed through a joint effort of the Cluj companies QSound SOFT and Napoca Software, VIKI is a truly innovative product, revolutionizing the world of home automation and smart homes. Continue reading “The VIKI smart home received the Grand Prize and the Gold Medal at Pro Invent 2017!” »
VIKI will attend the 15th edition of the International Exhibition of Research, Innovation and Invention “Pro Invent” in Cluj-Napoca, hosted between March 22 and 24, 2017 by the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, under the auspices of the Ministry National Education and the Ministry of Research and Innovation.
The event will take place in the Complex of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca and brings together universities, institutes, research centers and stations, companies, inventors’ associations, individuals from the country and abroad, in order to arouse the interest of potential users and the general public. Continue reading “VIKI is inviting you to Pro Invent 2017! Cluj-Napoca, March 22-24” »
As we already announced in a previous article, the VIKI team started a series of meetings-seminars, organized in order to present this intelligent system of home automation to those interested – architects, builders, specialists etc., decision makers from companies with an interest in promoting, installing and / or designing VIKI. Continue reading “VIKI Meetings: Episode 2” »
The VIKI team has started a series of meetings-seminars, in order to introduce this smart home automation system to those interested – architects, builders, specialists etc., decision makers from companies with an interest in promoting / VIKI installation / design.
A first meeting has already taken place, and some of the participants were later able to visit a “VIKI site”, a house where the system is currently being installed. Continue reading “Meet VIKI!” »
The house of the future is the house where technology blends harmoniously with your lifestyle, ensuring a perfect balance between comfort and relaxation. Designed for the whole family, VIKI technology is more than “home automation”, it means an intelligent system that constantly learns, becoming through its unique functions a “virtual butler” of the house. Continue reading “The smart home: 10 ways VIKI can improve your life” »
If until recently the home automation systems were considered science fiction, they are becoming now more and more present into our lives. Managing to control and monitor almost all the technological devices we use in a house, either we are at home or kilometers away, they bring significant benefits in what concernes the energy savings.
How many times has it happened to forget the lights or the heat turned on while leaving home? Our intelligent home automation system now allows not only to continuously monitor the status and to turn on/off from the phone all the electonical smart devices, but will learn your program, it will know when you came or leave the home, and therefore will heat the house at the right temperature, and will turn it off when the house is empty. In addition to the results in savings , such a solution eliminates concerns and gives the users peace of mind.
But much of the electricity is consumed while we are at home and without us realizing it. Whether we move from room to room and forget the light on, whether we find another activity while the TV remains on in another room, a smart home will know when it is time to close them due to motion sensors that identify the presence or absence of users in a certain room.
With the touch of a button, the tools to maximize the energy efficiency of the house are now within everyone’s reach. Technology that recently we could see only in movies is now here and besides comfort and entertainment brings the possibility of an economy of resources.
In a recent article we were mentioning the fact that although the installation of a home automation system it may seem a complex process, in fact it requires an activity of one or two days and a few minor adjustments.
But what are the components that make a smart home functional?
The first to be mentioned is the home server that orchestrate the communication between all electronic devices controling lighting, heating, or multimedia, by using VIKI’ s intelligence.
This “brain” of the house is called VIKI Central Unit.
To intelligently control the heating we recommend a kit consisting of a LCD radiator thermostat and an actuator for the central heating system, and for the hot summer days when we need to remotely start the air conditioning , it will be possible via the dedicated Z-Wave controller.
In addition to the classic motion detection function the multi sensors measure the ambient temperature and the light intensity, all this information being then forwarded to the home server which will implement actions according to our previous settings.
In what concernes our home security, the sensors that have been mounted on the doors and windows will alert us if we forget them opened when we live home, or when we prepare for sleep. Also a security alert, the flood sensor is particularly useful for our peace of mind when we leave home for longer period.
Smoke sensors, actuators for switches and other electronic devices which can be controlled via VIKI functionalities are available on http://vikiknows.com/tested_equipment.php.
With the beginning of the year and the information that arrived to us from the latest CES (Consumer Technology Association) where large electronics manufacturers presented their latest products, we decided to make a list of what 2016 looks for the home automation environment.
1. From Smart Home to Intelligent Home
A smart device is more or less a gadget that can be automated and controlled via the Internet from a phone, tablet or application. Instead, a intelligently device comes with a series of algorithms which gives it a kind of its own intelligence, and it’s capable of undertaking a series of actions according with our previous behavior. In the scenario where a user listens to music in a given weekday, in a certain time frame and in a particular room of the house, VIKI will know to reproduce this behavior, even without user’s intervention, at exactly the right moment and the favourit playlist.
2. Live Smart. Save Energy
Starting with thermostats that automate the control of the temperature, applications that let you do this remotely, we reach to a more complex system that monitors consumption and reminds you when you should stop and start the heat. VIKI not only that identifies when someone is at home and maintains a certain temperature in the rooms, but knows when you’re about to get home and is waiting for you with a warm and welcoming home.
Moreover when you go on vacation and forget to announce it, it stops automatically the heat and keeps it at a level favorable for the plants.
3. Home Safe Home
Security is a major concern for any family and must be an important feature for every home automation solution. Starting with various security systems that operate individually and are designed more to supervise, we get back to VIKI who has the role to tell you when you forget your windows or doors open or to facilitate the access to the house only with your mobile phone.
Therefore, although the home automation market is growing and more and more smart devices appear every day, for the users, the only thing that remains important is to make their lives easier giving them comfort and security.
