New products for smart home devices that connect to building materials such as LIXIL "shutter closes with strong winds"

On June 9, LIXIL announced "Life Assist 2" as a new product for smart home devices. By connecting home devices to housing equipment, building materials, home appliances, etc., it is possible to perform operations such as closing the shutter according to the weather and automatically turning off the home appliances when the door is opened when going out. It will be released on July 1st. The home device will be priced at 55,000 yen including tax, and the current series "Life Assist" requires a monthly usage fee of 1980 yen, but Life Assist 2 does not.

Life Assist was launched in 2018 as a home link system that connects home appliances, digital devices, and building materials such as entrance doors and window shutters with IoT technology. Approximately 5,000 units were sold, mainly for new construction, in about three years, and while there were voices saying "I can feel the convenience when using it" and "I can't think of a life without it", "The monthly usage fee is high" and "Apps". It is said that problems such as "it is difficult to use" have become apparent.

LIXIL has started developing Life Assist 2 based on user feedback. Considering the increase in home time due to the Korona-ka and changes in lifestyle such as measures against infectious diseases, it seems that all the problems of introducing smart homes such as "It seems to be expensive and it is difficult to set up because large-scale construction is required" can be solved. We have been developing it as a product, "says Keita Kurabayashi, general manager of the Third Development Office, Device Product Development Department, LIXIL Device Division.

Life Assist2 can be operated from a smartphone app or smart speaker by connecting a home device to a Wi-Fi router, connecting it to building materials such as shutters and entrance doors, home appliances such as air conditioners and lighting, energy management, and various sensors. Even devices other than those made by LIXIL support the ECHONET Lite standard recommended as a standard interface for HEMS (Home Energy Management System), and can also be connected via Wi-Fi or ZigBee. It also supports infrared centralized remote control and can be connected to infrared devices.

You can issue accounts for up to 10 people, and you can set permissions for each ID, such as giving children the right to operate only in the children's room. It is also useful as a watching function, such as being able to check whether the lights of families living far away are on or off.

In cooperation with "Weathernews", it can be used to close the shutter by linking to weather information, such as when it rains or when the wind gets stronger. With GPS, you can automatically set according to the scene of your life, such as turning on the air conditioner when you arrive at the nearest station.

Various operations can be set from the app, and you can register to see at a glance whether your family is at home or not. You can also receive push notifications such as when your child returns home.

In the future, in addition to promoting cooperation with exteriors such as windows, outer walls and exteriors, we would like to cooperate with local governments to remotely control keys for public facilities, key sharing, and improve local crime prevention. thing. It aims to sell 10,000 units in about three years.