Are we crazy enough to change the world?

We are implementing a new, revolutionary home automation service. Our product will wirelessly connect and control the technology and devices in your home.

To create it requires design, software, hardware, communication, customer support, and logistics.  This all inspires us but on the other hand, requires a tremendous amount of work. How is a new product or service born and how does it develop further? How do we build our product?

The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do. – Steve Jobs

Many practices and methodologies have been proposed especially for start-up companies: Agile methods, Lean Startup, etc. These trendy approaches have a couple of common factors that, together with our own experience, form the basis of our philosophy at Cozify

 Do, learn, and re-do

The worst pitfalls can be avoided through the application of professional skills and reliance on experience. Even so, mistakes happen and we should not be afraid of them. The most important part is to learn and do things better the next time. For example, the first printed 3D model of our hub’s plastic case couldn’t be considered as a sales version. But we improved the process and the next versions came out much better.

The only thing that persists is change

So we don’t get too attached to the things we’ve made. Instead, our tools and practices have been selected to allow for change. For example, our hub that will sit in user’s home will be able to automatically download the latest features and bug fixes over the network, so that functioning can be improved as rapidly as possible.

Get your hands dirty

We don’t have managers. We are all experts in our own areas, and we do a lot together as well. The CEO works on the technical design, developers participate in discussions about the business model, and everyone takes part in analyzing marketing statistics. Close co-operation requires some effort to mesh different personalities and professional viewpoints. But at its best, successful work done in such a team provides well-balanced results and satisfaction for all participants.

Listen

We are not building this product for ourselves. We are building the best possible home automation service for our customers. So we need to know what they want. During the earliest planning days, we collected feedback by showing our user interface sketches to total strangers in downtown Helsinki. As might be expected, it took some effort to capture the interest of busy passers-by, but we eventually received valuable and encouraging comments and feedback.

More recently we have begun collecting feedback through our discussion forum.  This is a new channel to publish topics and information about home automation and our services. We invite you to contribute and make an impact. Share your thoughts, let us know how you’d like home automation to work. Pilot users will have their own section as well.

And of course, please don’t hesitate to contact us directly if you happen to be interested in commercial co-operation, working for us, or becoming a pilot customer.

-Kimmo-
Kimmo Ruotoistenmäki is the CEO and one the founders of Cozify Oy

Five Reasons to Consider Home Automation

Some have long been awaiting it with anticipation, while others are starting only now to become aware. Homes will be smarter in the future, that is for certain. Today, we’ve listed five great reasons to consider home automation.

1. Ease of life

Well-implemented home automation makes ordinary life easier and cozier. It “thinks” about your home so you don’t need to as much. Automation frees the hands and minds of your family. It connects, adjusts, switches on and off, alarms, reports, identifies, remembers and learns.

2. Remote use has many advantages

Remote use saves time and effort. Remote controlled electric locks can be used to open the door for your elementary schooler who forgot the keys at home. A surveillance camera can follow how pets are getting along during the workday. A loaded coffee maker can be switched on on your way home, and switched off if you forgot while leaving the house in the morning. Your smartphone, tablet, or laptop brings your home into reach wherever you are.

3. Smart devices increase home safety

The home is a precious place but nonetheless one wants to enjoy it and also be away without excessive worry.  Newly available intelligent fire, smoke, burglary, motion, and moisture sensors can follow your home continuously. Integrated services communicate the status of your home to all family members over smart phones and, in case of emergency, direct calls to emergency services.  And of course, there is the age-old preventative of simply having the sticker on your door indicating a security system has been installed.

4. Optimizing house climate control saves money

Combining intelligence with temperature, ventilation, and window treatment control saves money. For example, heating and air conditioning can be adjusted automatically based on the outdoor and indoor temperature, the number of people inside the house, and their location. Window blinds or shades can be opened or closed to let sun in or reflect it out depending on the situation.  The automated home uses less energy without fuss, and moreover it can collect energy usage data for making informed decisions on areas to upgrade and improve.

5. The smart home entertains and allows creativity

Multimedia entertainment, whether from your own collection or provided by internet services, is available all around the smart house. Adjustable lighting, and wireless speakers and video monitors bring perfect mood to different spaces and occasions.

Home automation even makes crazy things possible. How about turning the lights blue, red, or yellow when the home team scores in a hockey game? Or could a birthday boy’s room be turned into a pirate ship with booming cannons and fires flickering in the background? The only limit is your imagination. All family members can control the home and enjoy the results whether for purposes of mood, hilarity, or simply being different.

We are working with eagerness and dedication to realize all of the above reasons to add smart automation to every home. To follow us, subscribe to our newsletter here.

-Sanna Mari-
Sanna Mari Alppivuori from the Cozify-team focuses on marketing and customer relations

Why did we choose lighting?

When we were deciding which area to focus on for our initial home automation product, we had several options. Although home automation can get very technical, we wanted to be sure every family member would to be able to use the system with smiles on their faces.

Before starting technical implementation we wanted to choose a domain where the objects are clear and easy to work with. Some areas we considered were efficiency and energy savings (remote controlled power outlets, heating and air conditioning monitoring and adjustment), safety and security (motion sensors, surveillance cameras, and electronic locks), and atmosphere and mood (wireless multiroom speakers, interactive entertainment systems). However all these seemed either too simple or too complex for the first product implementation.

In the end, we decided on lighting:

• Lighting plays a central role in every home in all three of the above areas: mood, safety, and efficiency.
• There are a number of high-quality smart lighting devices on the market, for example Philips Hue smart bulbs, for our product to integrate with.
• The physical devices for automating home lighting are easy to set up.
• Smart lighting can be used in countless situations to simplify daily living.
• Lighting is a complex entity and provides an ample set of challenges to prove the value of a home automation system.

In the first version of Cozify’s product, we will be offering a service allowing lighting to be controlled by motion or scheduled by time and/or day of the week, to meet the needs of ordinary family life. In addition to practical functions, brightness and color adjustments allow an almost unlimited range of options for users to modify mood at home just the way they want and need.

Implementation of the first version is almost completed and our first pilot release will happen soon. During the pilot period, we will be receiving valuable feedback on how families use Cozify lighting in their homes. This input will be used to improve the product before expanded release later this year. To receive the latest Cozify updates on the pilot and other activities, please subscribe to our Newsletter.

-Tony-

Tony Risikko from the Cozify team focuses on business development

Cozify Home Automation and Connected Devices

The so-called “Internet of Things” is coming slowly but surely into every home. In the Internet of Things, participating devices form a network and communicate using protocols and technologies similar to those used by web browsers and web servers. The most commonly seen examples today are smart TVs, but other devices are already following.

At Cozify, our own vision is closely based on the ideology behind the Internet of Things: that devices communicate wirelessly without complex setup and are easily accessed while at home or away through mobile applications. Thus, easy setup and simple use are the foundations of Cozify home automation.

How does Cozify home automation work technically?

Our system utilizes wireless technologies, especially the WiFi network that most homes have today. To ensure as wide device compatibility as possible, we also support Bluetooth and Zigbee radio interfaces. A constant connection to internet is not required for home operation, but only to control the system remotely. In the case of a power outage, doors can still be locked and unlocked using key, and if the home WiFi network is not accessible, lights can always be switched on or off from the switch on the wall.

The Cozify hub is the heart of the system. The hub connects all devices together and provides the link to our cloud services. Both user requests and device status notifications go to the hub, and action commands are sent out based on the received information. Themes, predefined by the user, allow easy control of multiple devices and groups, but individual control is always possible as well.

A theme is a collection of settings the user would like to apply in certain circumstances and conditions. Themes are created and stored to the hub using the Cozify mobile application. For example, a Night theme could turn on dimmed lights, lock doors, verify that garage and warehouse doors are closed, and activate door and window sensors. Even a preferred bedroom temperature could be set as part of this theme: only the imagination is the limit.

To communicate with the hub, a device must be able to wirelessly send and receive notifications and actions. The number of such “smart” devices available is ever-increasing, and examples include:

• motion / presence sensors
• LED light bulbs
• remote controllable outlets
• surveillance cameras
• electronic door locks
• thermostats
• door and window sensors
• moisture sensors
• wireless multiroom speakers
• household appliances, like refrigerators, washing machines, etc…

As can be seen, home automation can potentially cover everything from lights and entertainment to core systems like furnaces, boilers, and air conditioners, allowing the home owner great freedom to monitor activity, adjust mood, and improve efficiency. The possibilities are endless.

Everyone is warmly welcome to discuss, challenge, and brainstorm about what the future could bring. Please, start by commenting below.

-Tony-
Tony Risikko from Cozify-team focuses on business development and partners

Mood, Security and Efficiency with Smart Homes

Everyone wants their home to be cozy and secure, and only a few are willing to pay more than absolutely necessary. Wireless control of the devices and technology in our homes will soon be an ordinary part of our everyday lives. However, preferences vary from one family to another, and the home is a personal place that we want to reflect our needs and interests.

Cozify aims to bring wireless automation and “smartness” to homes in a way that is sensitive to these more personal aspects. We’re focusing on three main areas: Mood, Security, and Efficiency.

Mood

So what makes a cozy home atmosphere? It grows from what we see, hear, feel, smell, or taste. We perceive it with all of our instincts. The Cozify team will not focus on kitchen cabinetry or upholstery fabrics - there are other experts in those areas. Instead, our product will, for example, tune the lights including color, temperature, or brightness. Easily. Through use of motion detection and clock- and calendar-awareness, lighting and also sound can be provided when needed to suit the situation. To see how it can work, let’s take a tour through an example scene.

Mikko gets off his bus after work and heads home. Walking up the stairs to his door, the kitchen and hallway lighten up to welcome him home. A selection from his music collection starts to play in the background at a moderate volume. Now it is good time to prepare a sandwich. Susanna arrives a bit later with a new ball of wool and sits down in her favorite spot for needlework. With all the gear already on her lap, she needs more light for her activity. She picks up her smart phone and chooses the “Needlework” theme. This immediately brightens up living room, but only the surroundings of her working spot. Soon the couple sits down on couch, one with her needles, the other enjoying his sandwich.

Security

Our service secures the home as well as its inhabitants. Security can be enhanced, for example, by monitoring the house in real time and sending alarms when measures exceed their normal limits. There are lots of applications in the field of security. Let’s see how Helena is doing with her service:

It is very early morning, and a taxi is waiting. Helena hurriedly finishes packing her carry-on for a four day work trip as a air hostess to Asia. Then she closes the door and rushes to the parking lot. Stepping into the cab, she catches a glimpse of all the lights in her house turning down, and her smart phone notifies that remote monitoring is turned on. During the evenings while she is away, some of the lights will turn on for a couple of hours, and she’ll be able to check the situation inside the house through a camera. With her mind at peace, Helena turns her thoughts to the flying job ahead.

Efficiency

The home works efficiently when the costs for reaching the desired level of comfort are minimal.  Our product will be able to monitor and control heating and cooling via smart interfaces as well as provide historical statistics on usage and cost.  Eventually, the service itself will be able to use this data to provide concrete advice on how to save energy and optimize settings. One more example:

Jonna and Petri have just arrived home with their kids, Julia and Joona. Petri stays outside talking with their neighbor for a while.  The conversation turns to heating bills, since it has been a cold winter and they both have electric heating, which tends not to be as efficient when called upon for heavy use. Petri has had some success in controlling costs however, by using his smart home system to define separate temperature levels for each room based on needs at different times of the day.  And of course in addition the entire house gets turned down during the longer times while the family is away and the Cozify “Away from home”-theme is active.  No one needs to come home to a cold house because of this though, because the “Arriving home” -theme automatically activates on a schedule to prepare to welcome the family with warm rooms.  Petri tells his neighbor that so far it looks like they might save up to 15-20% over their costs from the previous winter without the Cozify system installed.

In sum, Cozify wants to nurture the Mood, Safety, and the Efficiency of every home. We are aiming high, so that the threshold for adoption will be low.

That is why we’d like to hear from you:
• What does Mood, Security and Efficiency mean for you?
• How would you like your home to work?
• Any other ideas or comments on this blog or on home automation in general.

Please visit our Facebook pages to comment.

We are enthusiastically waiting for your thoughts.

-Sanna Mari-
Sanna Mari Alppivuori from Cozify-team focuses on marketing and customers

Home automation without tears

Our story about better home automation was born from a real need. The need gave birth to a dream to provide a solution. This is how our story begins.

After birth of my first child, I started renovating a house for my family. Over the years, I’ve had many ideas about making life and living more cozy through use of home automation. Smart Home to guard your house when away and to entertain you when at home. Smart Home to adjust the lighting based on needs. Smart Home to heat or cool your house and save money while doing it. The idea of the Smart Home was not new.

Now it was time to get this up and coming technology into our house!

So where to start? While surfing the web, I quickly realized that, even though I knew something about technology, I would still need help here. So I called for a home automation expert to visit our home. During the discussion, the following became very clear:

• At very first, you need to carefully plan where all your fixtures are going to be placed. You cannot change the plan later on. It will not be possible to move your TV-corner for the next 50 years.
• The need for specialized electrical connections means the home's internal wiring must be largely redone.
• Design, installation and programming require various special skills from multiple vendors.
• To buy, a generous degree of knowledge, study, and nerves are required. And to top it all off, you’ll need one big fat wallet.
  

Meanwhile, we were sleeping in the basement, waiting to move in. We did not have time for yet another time consuming and expensive project. It was pretty easy to say that the Smart Home – as it is seen today – was not for us. The renovation was finished without home automation and today my family lives happily in a house with basic technology.

This experience raised lot of questions. Why were things so difficult from the ordinary consumer’s point of view? We live in the world of wireless networks. Where were the solutions utilizing wireless technologies and capable of retrofitting? Why was it necessary to spend a lot of money just to get a clumsy, hard-to-use, soon-to-be-obsolete home automation system?

So, together with my colleagues, I began to research the smart home area.

• Why is it not possible to install the automation part, after the renovation or construction project?
• Shouldn’t there be an easy way to expand or modify the home automation system, to meet new or unanticipated needs?
• Can the pricing be made more attractive for the ordinary homeowner?
• Is it possible to simplify the daily use of the system?
• And do smart home devices really need to look ugly?

To answer these questions and to improve the quality of life for all of us, we examined the technology, discovered the possibilities of the Internet of Things, and thought through the purchase process and user experience. The needs are obvious. But was there a solution available?

There was not. We are going to build it.

Our experienced team of experts is doing hard work for our first pilot installations. Users, as well as partners, old colleagues and friends provide us with valuable advice and rousing support.

Soon, there will be an easy to use smart home service, capable of retrofitting and based on wireless technologies. To buy and to use it, you will not need to be a millionaire or possess a master’s thesis in technology. The vision of the future is an enormous driver for all of us.

Join us and be part of our story!

-Kimmo-
Kimmo Ruotoistenmäki is the CEO and one the founders of Cozify Oy