NEST HAS TAKEN a major step towards creating a proper smart home business by announcing its developer programme.
The company, which was bought by Google back in January for $3.2 billion, will work with the likes of Mercedes-Benz, Whirlpool, Logitech and IFTTT to develop software and integrate with Nest devices.
Certain partnerships like Mercedes-Benz will see your car tell Nest what time you will be home at, allowing the thermostat to adjust the heating so your home is at the right temperature when you arrive.
Others like Whirlpool will learn which times see peak energy usage, and delays the start of a wash cycle until it passes, saving energy, while LIFX bulbs will allow users to make it look like someone is home when they’re away by automatically turning on and off your lights throughout the home.
The device will also work with Google Now, which is expected to arrive in the Autumn, and will allow users to control their Nest thermostat through the service.
In a statement announcing the move, the co-founder of Nest, Matt Rogers, said the programme will go go beyond just linking and remote controlling the devices in your home.
“What we’re doing is making it possible for your Nest devices to securely interact with the things you already use every day. Things like lights, appliances, fitness bands and even cars. Because when we make connections between these different parts of your life, we can create personalized experiences that do even more to keep you comfortable and safe. And help you save energy around the house. Automatically.”
Nest says it only provides developers with the minimum amount of data necessary for their product to work. Depending on the integration, it may include basic home and device data, smoke and CO status, or home and away states.
It doesn’t share usernames, passwords, email or home addresses and lets users know what information will be shared before they use a product.
It recently bought the home-surveillance company Dropcam for $555 million. The company makes in-home cameras which can be accessed from a smartphone wherever there is an internet connection.
The company has assured users that data from both it and Dropcam won’t be shared with anyone, including Google, without customer permission since it doesn’t have an advertising model.
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