Summary of iBlinds – Make Your Existing Blinds Intelligent
The iBlinds project won the Z-Wave Alliance's 2015 IoT competition. It solves issues like energy waste, security risks from open blinds, and smart home complexity by automating existing two-inch horizontal blinds. The device allows remote control via a smartphone app, enabling users to set schedules, adjust temperatures, and manage individual or group blinds effortlessly without complex setups or expensive hardware.
Parts used in iBlinds:
- iBlinds kit
- Smartphone with free app
- Z-Wave technology (implied by Alliance context)
- Existing two inch horizontal blinds
The Z-Wave Alliance, an open consortium of leading global companies deploying Z-Wave, was proud to announce iBlinds as the October 2015 winner of its global IoT developer competition.
The Problem
If you live in a house, or even a multi-room apartment, you know how annoying it is trying to control the blinds on every window.
You wake up in a dark room and have to use an artificial light before letting the sun in by opening the blinds in the bedroom. You come home from work to a hot house because the sun was warming it all day. Now, you have to adjust the thermostat to cool it down. You have to close the blinds before turning on your TV or computer. It drives you crazy on vacations away from home, wondering if you left any blinds open. At the same time, by having your blinds closed for several days in a row, you are giving a signal to burglars that the house is unoccupied and offers a “window of opportunity.”
Hi, my name is Eric. As an electrical engineer and software developer, I am very excited about the opportunities offered by the Internet of Things. But also, I’ve been really unsatisfied with the level of fragmentation and complexity in the industry. Almost every new device requires a separate app or a new bridge. Home automation is supposed to make our lives easier. Instead, just to turn on a light, you need to find your smartphone, open an app, wait until it is connected to the bridge, and only after that, turn on the light. The complexity slows down smart home adaption and prevents many of us from using the fruits of the technological progress.
I wanted to have a product which would work right out of the box, “talk” to other appliances, and would be easy to install and manage with just a touch of a button. I visited my local Home Depot and searched online. But all the solutions currently available on the market are either very expensive or too complicated (or both).
So I had to come up with my own device.
Meet iBlinds
The iBlinds kit is made for homeowners and landlords who would like to save time and money on energy bills and to have an automated solution which makes their lives more comfortable and secure. It is designed for the busy lifestyle of contemporary people but will also be hugely appreciated by your elderly parents and people with a limited mobility by protecting them from unnecessary, dangerous “gymnastics.”
iBlinds is an easy to install and manage control kit for your blinds. It will let you automate any two inch horizontal blinds in your house or office: set up a specific time to open and close, adjust them to keep your home warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, manually control a single blind, or a group of them, from anywhere in the house or in the world, using a free app on your smartphone.
Read more: iBlinds – Make Your Existing Blinds Intelligent
- What problem does iBlinds solve?
It addresses the annoyance of controlling blinds manually, energy waste from unmanaged sunlight, and security risks when leaving blinds open during vacations. - How does iBlinds improve energy efficiency?
It allows users to adjust blinds to keep homes warmer in winter and cooler in summer automatically. - Can iBlinds be controlled remotely?
Yes, users can manually control single or group blinds from anywhere in the house or the world using a smartphone app. - What type of blinds does iBlinds support?
The kit is designed to automate any two inch horizontal blinds found in houses or offices. - Does iBlinds require a separate bridge for every device?
No, the creator specifically designed it to avoid the industry fragmentation where every new device requires a separate app or bridge. - Who benefits most from using iBlinds?
It suits busy homeowners, landlords, elderly parents, and people with limited mobility who need an easy automated solution. - How difficult is the installation process?
The product is described as easy to install and manage with just a touch of a button. - Why did the creator develop this device?
He was unsatisfied with the high cost, complexity, and fragmentation of existing market solutions.
