In the future with ELIV
ELIV takes lamp control into the future
ELIV is the hardware, software and service system that allows you to make every lighting device intelligent with simplicity. ELIV allows you to enjoy all the benefits associated with using the internet in the Smart Home of the future, without worries. ELIV makes your lamp intelligent, always connected, easy to control. ALSO WITH THE VOICE.
The context: the world of IoT
IoT and Smart Objects
When we talk about IoT (an acronym for Internet of Things) we refer to internet applications relating to so-called “intelligent objects” (smart objects). To be considered “intelligent” the object must:
- be equipped with a unique identifier in the digital world.
- be connected to be able to transmit and receive information.
The internet of things is, in fact, an evolution of the use of the network: objects become recognizable and acquire intelligence thanks to the fact that they can communicate data about themselves and access aggregate information from others, creating a pervasive and interconnected.
The Smart Home
In the housing field, this intelligent development began with home automation and then spread increasingly to everyday objects: from the alarm clock that takes into account the traffic, to the intelligent management of household appliances. All of this is around us and increasingly accessible.
- Air conditioning
- Heating
- Lighting
- Diffusion of music
- Management and distribution of energy and water
- Security, opening and darkening systems
- Creation of programmed scenarios
ELIV ELIV allows you to integrate your lamps into the IoT world.
IoT data and growth prospects
According to the report of the Internet of Things Observatory of the School of Management of the Politecnico di Milano released in April 2019, the Italian IoT market continues to grow at a rapid pace also in 2018, reaching the value of 5 billion euros, with an increase of 35% compared to 2017, driven both by applications that exploit the “traditional” cellular connectivity (2.8 billion euros, + 27%) and by those that use other communication technologies (2.2 billion, +47%). 26 BILLION CONNECTED OBJECTS AT GLOBAL LEVEL IN 2020 (Gartner estimates). The growth of the Italian market is in line with that of other Western countries, where it oscillates between + 25% and + 40%, and is driven above all by services enabled by connected objects, which now cover 36% of the market, equal to 1.8 billion euros and up 44% compared to the previous year.
Voice assistants
Voice assistants are synthetic operators based on artificial intelligence: in essence, they are programs whose development codes are associated with machine learning and deep learning.
They relate to users through voice, receiving commands and consequently controlling compatible smart objects.
Voice assistants can be used via smartphone, smartwatch, smart speaker and smart display by installing the appropriate apps or using devices in which they are native (integrated already in production).
The best known and most used voice assistants are those of Amazon and Google who can boast, especially Amazon, a great variety of skills, both playful and functional.
As users interact with these assistants, the trade related to voice technology increases: a turnover estimated at 80 BILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR ON A GLOBAL SCALE.
Diffusion of vocal assistants and perspectives
In America, one in three households already use Alexa regularly. According to the Strategy Analytics report by the end of 2020 more than one in two American families will host at least one smart speaker and 130 million units will be sold worldwide in 2019.
In Europe, although they have been marketed more recently, the market is constantly growing thanks to the constant development of compatible smart objects and dedicated skills, in different languages.
Smart speakers will be the fastest growing connected devices in the world: according to research data Canalys by 2021 there will be more smart speakers than tablets and by 2023, again on a global scale, there will be over half a billion units.
Smart Home applications already available
Internationally, Google Assistant currently has over 10,000 compatible smart devices from 1,000 different brands, many of which are dedicated to the smart home. On the other hand, the Alexa-compatible devices declared by Amazon are 60,000 for over 7,400 brands, with a constant expansion of their “skills” (additional commands similar to smartphone applications).
The version of Alexa for the American market currently has more than 1,000 skills dedicated to the Smart Home while in Italy, where it was launched at the end of 2018, in October 2019 it has about 300.
According to a recent statistic, 32% OF SMART SPEAKER USERS ALREADY USE THEM TO CONTROL THE LIGHTS OR THE THERMOSTAT.
Why ELIV uses the wi-fi protocol.
ELIV uses the wi-fi protocol to connect wirelessly to the network and communicate with voice assistants because, unlike other protocols such as ZigBee, it is currently compatible with all smart speakers on which Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant have been installed.
This ensures maximum compatibility and flexibility for ELIV lamps with dimmers, which will be able to communicate with both assistants, whether they are installed in the first smart speaker models or the more advanced versions.
Furthermore, the wi-fi protocol allows the device manufacturer to acquire usage data, giving the customer the possibility of obtaining more services from lamp manufacturers.
How the voice assistant lamp control works
To control a lamp with your voice, both the lamp and the voice assistant must be connected to the internet and previously configured. To activate the listening assistant, simply say a specific phrase such as “Alexa!” or “Ok Google”.
Thanks to machine learning and the use of constantly updated algorithms, artificial intelligence is increasingly efficient in interpreting the user’s natural language and understanding the meaning of each sentence.
To connect these objects, the command necessarily passes through 2 dedicated servers, one for artificial intelligence and one for the lamp.
1. The words spoken by the user are transformed into text through the speech-to-text function and sent to the A.I. resident in the cloud, on Google or Amazon servers.
2. Artificial intelligence sends the command to the smart object manufacturer’s server.
3. The manufacturer’s server sends the command to its product, which executes it.
exploit the advantages of IoT with ELIV
Maximum privacy of your data thanks to ELIV
ELIV, for the data collected during its operation, uses a high-performance server hosted on Amazon AWS (currently used by 34% of developers working in the IoT) with the possibility of exclusive access to all the information collected by the lamps and dedicated assistance service. Alternatively, you can take over the complete management of the database, which you can host on a server at your discretion
What advantages do you have in practical terms?
• Access to data on the use of your products by the production of lamps for additional benefits such as extended warranties
• Security on the retention of data provided by customers.
• Certainty on the functioning of the service in the long term.
• Possibility to intervene promptly in case of a server malfunction.
What data is collected by the ELIV system
Each dimmer is associated with a unique ID and collects geo-localized data relating to its specific use. From these data, lamp manufacturers can extract statistics with different metrics, monitoring single uses, totals and averages on different time bases (daily, weekly, monthly …) to improve the quality of the products.
What data is collected
• user’s name and contact email
• date and place of installation
• number of starts
• number of shutdowns
• duration of use for each ignition
• light intensity adjustment
• hours of use
All data collected complies with the European directive GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
Why we collect your data
Digital transformation has taught us that data is an invaluable source of information. Having measurable parameters allows lamp manufacturers to evaluate theories and hypotheses on a concrete basis and CREATE PRODUCTS THAT RESPOND IN A PRIMARY WAY TO THE CUSTOMER’S NEEDS, optimizing the choice of internal components based on real use.
Use of data and privacy protection
The European regulation for the protection of personal data in force since May 2018 contains a series of specific requirements relating to the IoT (Article 25 GDPR) with particular attention to the protection of personal data, which must begin already in the design phase of the object or service.
ELIV services take into account all legal provisions. Privacy, as well as cyber security, is mostly managed through the big partners of the project: Google and Amazon.
During the installation phase of the app, the user must accept the conditions of use of the Google and Amazon services, granting their authorization to process the data.
With ELIV All information exchanges are protected by the HyperText Transfer Protocol over Secure Socket Layer (HTTPS and SSL) which guarantees and protects extremely secure communication:
• authentication of the website visited
• protection of privacy (confidentiality or confidentiality)
• integrity of the data exchanged between the communicating parties.
Is my ELIV system always up to date?
ELIV dimmers are offered in 2 ways:
• integrated inside the lamp
• by connecting an external wi-fi dimmer to the lamp.
ELIV provides for the possibility of remote software updates to evolve following the IoT market. These updates can be on request or by default, in case there is an update of all the ELIV dimmers marketed over time.
It could be the case, for example, of the need to make them compatible with other voice assistants not foreseen to date.
ELIV always remains an advanced and updated solution.
Synchronized control options
The three dimmer control options
With ELIV you can control the lamp in real time wherever it is, in a simple, intuitive and fast way. It is the only system that offers 3 different control modes: via voice, app or button. The user can manage the light in the way he prefers at any time, switching from one mode to another without complications. The system is always synchronized and ready for use, whatever the type of command chosen. EVERYWHERE. IN ANY CASE. Switch on with your voice, adjust the light intensity with the app, switch off with a button or vice-versa. Today you can.
Voice control
You can talk to voice assistants via smart speakers and smart displays or from your mobile phone via the app. In addition to Google Assistant, native to smartphones with an Android system, Amazon Alexa also has a smartphone app compatible with Android and iOS.
Alexa and Google Assistant (native or via compatible apps) can also be used with some smartwatches.
ELIV APP
An app is required to configure and use ELIV. The app is active both remotely and near the light points, it allows full control of the system and the creation of customized scenarios. You can log in via smartphone, tablet and personal computer and set up automated routines.
Button
The ELIV system is a development of the standard dimmers, preserving the performance and characteristics that derive from years of research. For this it can work perfectly as a classic dimmer, as well as a voice-activated Wi-Fi dimmer, and be controlled via a physical button.
It is a perfect solution to meet the needs of those who are not familiar with new technologies. Besides, it guarantees the use of the lamp in case of breakdowns or malfunctioning of the internet network.
Simplified networking
Why networking via Bluetooth
ELIV, unlike other systems, provides for the first configuration via Bluetooth. This facilitates networking operations because, after configuring the first dimmer, ELIV recognizes the other available elements, suggesting a modular configuration to the user.
The lamps, therefore, can be connected to the power supply altogether and it is faster to create scenarios with different matched wi-fi light points.
Conversely, configuring a lighting system with several light points via wi-fi is a time-consuming solution. The dimmers must be connected to the electricity network and made available to the wi-fi network one at a time, repeating the recognition and identification operations for every single lamp that you want to connect.
If it is necessary to reset the lighting system, for example, due to a malfunction of the network or a change in management of the internet network, all these operations must be repeated by connecting the lamps one at a time.
A control in a few simple taps
Through the application, you can control and manage the lighting system equipped with ELIV Wi-Fi technology with a few simple taps and have everything under control on your smartphone or tablet.
Features included within the app:
• Switching on, switching off and controlling the brightness level of each single light point.
• Creation and recall of favorite lighting scenarios.
• System management from a single simplified user interface.
ELIV: your lamp, evolved
Because ELIV is the solution of the future.
ELIV is the most complete and advantageous solution to enter the world of the future IoT.
Only with ELIV you can:
• Make your lighting system smart
• Control the light via button, as well as via app and voice.
• Simplify the networking of light points even on complex projects via Bluetooth.
NOTE e FONTI
Last content update: October 2019
I (April 2019 reports).
II Strategy Analitics – research, experts, and Analytics (report di Maggio 2019).
III Canalys’ Smart Assistant Analysis (report di Aprile 2019).
IV Digital Transformation Institute di Capgemini (report di Gennaio 2018).