Telefónica has developed a “Lego-like” smart home product for consumers, which connects using 2G.
Thinking Things is the Spain-based operator’s first IoT product to be released commercially and allows consumers to control and manage the temperature, lighting and humidity of their home or office remotely via pieces of hardware called “modules”.
Priced at €90, the modules contain sensors, actuators and connectivity, and can be programmed to perform tasks as they automatically connect to a Thinking Things software platform on the cloud.
Additional modules will offer presence and pressure sensors, impact meters, audio and LED notification modules and timers. They can be fitted together like pieces of Lego.
The product, which uses open hardware that was developed by Telefónica Labs and Arduino, connects through a 2G network across Europe, the United States and Latin America.
Thinking Things also includes an API that allows developers to build their own solutions through an app or online. The operator said it is part of its plans to take advantage of a sector that is predicted to grow by more than 2,400 percent between now and 2020.
Francisco Jariego, Telefónica I+D’s Director of Industrial Internet of Things, commented: “This is a major step in Telefónica’s journey into the Internet of Things. Our aim is for Thinking Things Open to become an open ecosystem in which any object or device can be connected to the Internet.”
In September 2013, Deutsche Telekom launched its Qivicon smart home platform, which is designed to run smart home products such as lights, washing machines and home heating.
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