Will The Home Automation Revolution Be DIY?

At its most accessible, a connected home can be created with consumer-friendly devices that require little or no installation--an approach largely popularized by the likes of Nest.

Take Canary: A home security product without a single wire that raised a staggering $1,961,862 on Indiegogo in July 2013 and is currently in pre-order.

One unified device is equipped with motion detection, temperature and humidity sensors, microphone and speaker--providing reassuring eyes and ears inside a home while you're away. Its key, however, is the sophisticated software it runs, according to Canary cofounder Adam Sager. Canary learns your habits, so it knows how to make the most of that sensor data--the idea is that it becomes smart enough to realize whether something happening in your home is normal or suspect.

Instead of just being a binary sensor, we decided to add a lot of intelligence to our device. We looked at building artificial intelligence and machine learning into the device, so when we came out it was a different approach to security, Sager says.

Sager believes Canary fills a gap in the market for a consumer-level security device. A solution so simple, he says it doesnt even classify as DIY. In other words, its not a solution geared for the Lowes weekend warrior--instead, you might one day find it at a big box electronics store.

[Canary] is designed for normal people to install and use, whether youre a renter or an owner or just someone who doesnt want to install a fully integrated system, he says. Thats the middle ground between the fully integrated model and the DIY model--the consumer model, and this wasnt being addressed at all.

The DIY model moves from single, simple devices to more complex, integrated systems. They typically include some kind of brain--either a dedicated device or computer running software--that gathers information from various sensors and then calls all the shots by sending commands to a slew of control devices installed throughout the home. Control devices are anything from a simple module plugged in between a lamp and the wall to smart light switches, HVAC, security systems, and whole-home media interfaces.

This DIY space has long been owned by the geekier among us, requiring comfort with hardware, programming, and electrical wiring. But thats starting to change.

Simpler, less costly smart devices that can wirelessly communicate to the brain have matured into reliable whole-home choices, making the decision to automate increasingly tempting for early adopters. Many of these wireless devices use an open-standard wireless technology called Z-Wave to communicate with other devices on the network. With technologies like Z-Wave, or other popular contenders like Insteon, DIYers dont need to mess with a hard-wired system or specialized programming to achieve the results they want.

Another emerging trend is simpler solutions to that all-important brain of the system. User-friendly, no programming required smart hubs, typically controllable from a mobile device, now offer an alternative to more technical choices.

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Will The Home Automation Revolution Be DIY?