[CES] 2007 Exclusive Update - ZWAVE

BraveSirRobbin

Moderator
CocoonTech CES 2007 Exclusive Updates - ZWAVE

Notice: Please be aware that information gathered from the various vendors’ booths was done at an incredibly fast and furious pace. The purpose of these updates is to make our members aware of the new technologies introduced during the show as quickly as possible. Some details and statements may have been (unintentionally) misinterpreted and thus not be entirely correct/accurate during this process.

I had a chance to visit the Z-Wave booth while attending CES 2007 in Las Vegas on January 8th (first day of the show). I spoke with Soren Lorentsen, Senior Manager with Zensys. Soren was very gracious as he took me around to all of the various Z-Wave displays.


Wayne Dalton Garage Doors
First he showed me the Wayne Dalton "I-Drive" Z-Wave garage door opener. It can be controlled with the three buttons from your home link in your car so it communicates securely with the garage door opener, but then the buttons can also be mapped to Z-Wave signals/devices so you can perform various functions such as turn lights on when the garage door opens.


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Z-Wave New Products
He also showed me the upcoming Z-Wave switched receptacle (coming out later this year).


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Next I saw some Leviton Aspire RF Z-Wave switches whose paddles come in a variety of colors including gray, cream, and white along with the black shown below. These switches have 600 watt and 1000 watt dimmer models. I like the "feel" of Leviton switches as you push down to both turn on and off.


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There are also blinds that are controlled via Z-Wave.


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Viewsonic
Viewsonic came out with a "Airpanel" tablet PC with built in Z-Wave capability!


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Hawking Technologies
Next I saw some Hawking Technologies Z-Wave devices including a Z-Wave to Wireless Ethernet Bridge which will let you do tasks such as control your Z-Wave devices via your internet enabled phone.


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Another product shown from Hawking was a IP video camera (top left of the above picture). This camera can detect motion then send a signal (via Ethernet) to the Z-Wave Ethernet bridge so you can turn on a Z-Wave enabled light based on this motion trigger.


LagoTek
Soren then took me over to LagoTek's area and there I spoke with Ilya Billig. Lagotek was displaying a very nice looking Z-Wave touch pad controller that can fit over a double gang box (where it will obtain its power).

It can control local loads plus communicate (via wireless network "WiFi") with a "legacy" flexible control box (Home Intelligence Platform). This box can control legacy hardware such as serial ports, contact closures, etc... (items that know nothing about Z-Wave).

The touch pad unit is a full logic controller (thus it can control various items such as thermostat functions).

They also have stand alone Z-Wave temperature sensors (with a small screen that displays temperature) plus this temperature can communicate it's information with various Z-Wave controllers. This temperature module can be used for various rooms in your home.


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Wayne Dalton Home Gateway
Next, I saw the Wayne Dalton Home Gateway product. This device will connect to the house and automatically creates a Z-Wave network for scenes, controls the will respond to various Z-Wave triggers, time related events, etc...

So for instance it will enable you to perform logic with Z-Wave devices plus it connects to the internet and has a built in web-server which will enable remote access. It will also perform functions such as Email based on a Z-Wave trigger.

This device will also "heal" the Z-Wave network if it "sees" a device that is failing.

In March they will display touch screens with this product at a home builder's show.

It is not marketed with the DIY person in mind, rather for new home builds and installers.


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4HomeMedia
Next I visited 4HomeMedia and looked at their Z-Wave products. They offer a device called the Control Point 1000 which won a Best of CES award.

It can control Z-Wave devices and has built in "media center like" software interface with various customizable skins.


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This device also has USB and firewire ports, though I'm not sure exactly what devices they can interface to.


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BuLogics
Next I visited BuLogics where they were showcasing their "BaseCamp" controller box and software. Basically this device also has an interface and Z-Wave capability and can interface with a Z-Wave Sirus music controller. It also has a remote which will show the data of the items your controlling including song information (currently being played).


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iControl
Next was the iControl product which is a home monitoring service which allows you to monitor and control your home while you are away via your own personal webpage service offered by iControl.

This system can interface with Z-Wave devices as well as security type wireless sensors from Caddx (door/window).

These devices can then interact with the controller so you can be notified of someone at your front door, have a picture Emailed to you, and turn on Z-Wave lighting. It has IP wireless capability (monitors IP cameras) as well as Z-Wave device capability.

Their internet monitoring service is approximately $15 per month. A basic system costs $149 for a starter package (gateway and motion detector). This system touts its simplicity and ease of setting up for the DIY person (takes less than thirty minutes to install and setup).

It also supports Z-Wave thermostats/smoke detectors, scene programming, Email notifications, etc...

It will "work with" but not integrate with home security systems.


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CocoonTech would like to again extend its thanks and grattitude to Soren Lorentsen and all the Z-Wave vendors for taking the time to provide information and demonstrate their products! ;)
 
Great post! One thing to correct though...The leviton product is Vizia RF. Aspire is another manufacturer. I had a chance to play with the Leviton stuff and their master controller does the setup easy. It is very robust and has great interoperability with other manufacturers.
 
Chris was right, those are some pretty impressive pieces of hardware.

Thanks for the info BSR.
 
Impressive, yes. But you know what would impress me even more?

If it were actually possible to *BUY* some of this stuff!

I like zwave, but I'm getting tired of hearing "available next quarter"...

Jerry
 
Wow, that's a lot of new stuff coming out. Good Job.

Does any of the ZWave stuff support event notification like insteon yet? Ie. notifying other controls that a switch was turned on/off locally?
 
johnnynine said:
Wow, that's a lot of new stuff coming out. Good Job.

Does any of the ZWave stuff support event notification like insteon yet? Ie. notifying other controls that a switch was turned on/off locally?
Many of the new switches do this now if you are using a software backbone like HomeSeer.
 
JKnox said:
Impressive, yes. But you know what would impress me even more?

If it were actually possible to *BUY* some of this stuff!

I like zwave, but I'm getting tired of hearing "available next quarter"...

Jerry
Isn't that the truth. The Sirius radio with Z-Wave is out as is the garage door opener but some of these things have been slow to market.
 
johnnynine said:
Wow, that's a lot of new stuff coming out. Good Job.

Does any of the ZWave stuff support event notification like insteon yet? Ie. notifying other controls that a switch was turned on/off locally?
That same stuff was said last year. Coming out.
 
electron said:
Great post! Which product were you most impressed with?
I was impressed with the small touch pad/controller that will install in the same space as a double gang box.

Also, thanks for any corrections to my posting errors made above. I'm not a Z-Wave expert by any stretch :blink:

I wish now that I would have thought about the switch on/off sending status question above, that would have been a good one to ask. Maybe if I get back near the Convention Center South Hall I will try and find an answer for you.
 
BraveSirRobbin said:
I wish now that I would have thought about the switch on/off sending status question above, that would have been a good one to ask. Maybe if I get back near the Convention Center South Hall I will try and find an answer for you.
That would be great if you have time, I know there are quite a few of us that would like to know where the status change notifications stand. It's one of the few things keeping me from jumping on ZWave (I haven't formally chosen a lighting solution quite yet.)
 
I know I posted more detailed information in another forum. But the current ACT products and Leviton ViziaRF products support the instant status. When they are controlled locally, they send their status to the controller.

-Rich

HomeSeer Technologies LLC
 
rjh said:
I know I posted more detailed information in another forum. But the current ACT products and Leviton ViziaRF products support the instant status. When they are controlled locally, they send their status to the controller.

-Rich

HomeSeer Technologies LLC
Oh man, thanks for this post Rich. Sorry Johnny, but I totally forgot about following up.

I indeed talked to someone at Z-Wave at CES on Wednesday and basically confirmed what Rich posted. As they both stated you need the newer versions of the switches for this status feature.

Sorry again for forgetting!
 
Great, thanks for the update. So the latest models of ACT and Leviton ViziaRF support instant status, got it. I'll have to take another look at Z-Wave, as I recall the Leviton ViziaRF were pricey.
 
j9,

The Leviton VIZIA RF switches support the updates you're looking for via the standard Z-Wave reporting mechanism, with no software gateway required if you prefer.

The Cooper ASPIRE RF switches have been supporting updates as well, and I understand that the Intermatic InTouch products will when they ship.

Also, a foreign company was showing a new thermostat that's supposed to be $100 or less at retail, and featured full updates from the thermostat. Nifty.

Chris
 
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