LEDVANCE has announced that SYLVANIA smart lights can now be controlled via voice directly with the OSRAM LIGHTIFY® Gateway and Alexa-enabled devices including the hands-free voice controlled speaker Amazon Echo, providing another smart home option for the general public.
The OSRAM LIGHTIFY Gateway offers a way for consumers to interact with their Smart Home, turning lights on and off and dimming them just by asking Alexa. Alternatively, for those that want a broader Smart Home experience, SYLVANIA smart lighting products continue to work directly with leading home automation systems such as Google’s Nest, WeMo, and a few others. Unfortunately if you are on Apple HomeKit, it looks like you are stuck with the dedicated app vs. an integrated solution with HomeKit.
“Voice enables incredibly simple and magical experiences,” said Charlie Kindel, Director, Alexa Smart Home. “Imagine being able to walk in your front door and have your house listen for your request to turn on the lights – now that’s a reality. We’re excited to add SYLVANIA smart lights to the list of Alexa-enabled lights – we think customers will love this experience.”
“According to our recently published SYLVANIA Socket Survey, which is a nationwide measure of public attitudes about energy-efficient lighting and awareness of lighting trends, most consumers think smart lighting will eventually replace regular light bulbs. More than half of consumers also believe smart lighting fits their lifestyle. However, few consumers have purchased smart lighting, suggesting that Americans see a trend coming but have not personally adopted it yet,” said Aaron Ganick, who heads up the Smart Home Americas business unit at LEDVANCE. “That is why we are making it even easier for consumers to maximize the benefits of their Smart Home by offering voice control of their SYLVANIA smart lighting products using Alexa. Voice control helps create a more enjoyable and convenient experience at home.”
Voice activated options for smart home technologies do open up a sense of ease of use for the homeowner. A father making dinner for his family can ask Alexa to make the lights brighter so he can see what he is doing better, and then later ask Alexa to dim the lights to create the perfect mood for dining; all without needing to stop what he is doing to pick up a mobile device and launch an app. A person busy preparing their home for a party can ask Alexa to turn on the outside lights so that guests feel safer walking up to the door, while they are also standing on a chair hanging decorations.
“Living in a Smart Home should not require an advanced technology degree, or need to be intimidating,” continued Ganick. “In order to bring the benefits of a Smart Home to the mass market, we need to simplify how consumers interact with our products which is why we are offering this capability with Alexa and Amazon Echo.”
Other manufacturers like Philips have already been to the table with similar solutions. As we have mentioned before, many manufacturers are following the lead of Philips be making their products more integrated with the options available today. We hope that SYLVANIA will expand their technology to integrate easily with more smart home solutions very soon.
