On June 21, a piece of news released by an overseas AI marketing account that “the world’s largest open source smart home platform Home Assistant (hereinafter referred to as HA) officially launched the AI compatibility layer” quickly spread in the smart home circle, and many users expressed high expectations for the implementation of this feature.
However, it was later verified that the news was false. None of HA’s official recent update logs mentioned the relevant AI Layer plans.
However, there are currently a large number of third-party developers in the HA ecosystem that have launched relevant plug-ins, giving the platform AI Agent capabilities, and are only one step away from the official native AI compatibility layer.
Behind this oolong incident, it reflects the industry’s urgent expectation for smart home agentization, and this starts with the shortcomings of the current mainstream hosted smart home platforms.
Many users have had similar experiences: they are at home and the Wi-Fi connection is normal, but they cannot control the air conditioner through the mobile app, and the voice commands are not responded to. The core reason for this kind of problem is that many smart home smart services currently run on the brand cloud, and the user’s operation instructions need to be uploaded to the brand server first, and then sent to the home devices. Once the brand cloud fails, all devices will fall into an “out of control” state.
In addition, ecological exclusivity is also a major pain point in current smart homes: after users choose a gateway of a certain ecosystem, they must first consider whether to adapt to that ecosystem when purchasing other smart devices. On the contrary, it is difficult to give priority to products with the best single product experience.
Although the industry has launched the Matter open protocol in an attempt to break down ecological barriers, currently only basic operations such as switching, brightness, and temperature adjustment can be implemented. A large number of brand-specific advanced functions still need to be jumped to the brand’s own App before they can be used.
The data privacy risks of closed-source commercial platforms cannot be ignored. Once household data collected by door locks, human body sensors, air conditioners, sweeping robots and other equipment is improperly used, it is likely to damage the rights and interests of users.
The core advantages of open source smart home platforms such as HA can solve these pain points: local automation can still run normally even when the network is disconnected, devices of different brands can be connected to the same local system, and user data does not need to be uploaded to the cloud and only remains locally.
If you want this type of locally running smart home platform to have intelligent capabilities comparable to mainstream voice assistants, the only solution is to realize smart home Agentization.
The agent here is not to add a chat window to all smart devices, but to make all AIoT devices no longer just a virtual switch in the App, but can actively synchronize their status, capabilities, and linkage mechanisms to the smart home platform, thereby achieving deeper intelligent linkage: for example, air conditioners can be linked to the person tracking function of security cameras to automatically adjust the air supply direction; sweeping robots can automatically plan cleaning time according to the user’s schedule to avoid disturbing the user’s rest.
Currently, many domestic smart home players have already deployed in related fields: major home appliance brands are exploring active smart services adapted to different life scenarios based on the use scenarios of core home equipment such as air conditioners, refrigerators, and washing machines. Previously, leading home appliance brands have announced that the whole house will be intelligently connected to general AI, taking the lead in opening up AI in the home appliance field.
Attempts to implement Agent; spatial intelligence brands provide data support for AI to judge home scenes by deploying all types of sensors such as doors, windows, human body, water immersion, and door locks; whole-house intelligent solution providers complete unified spatial planning of network, lighting, security, and sensors during the decoration delivery stage, providing a clear spatial base map for AI; platform-based manufacturers provide AI Agent quick access solutions for traditional IoT manufacturers that lack R&D capabilities, lowering the threshold for industry implementation.
For ordinary users, a good smart home should have a very low sense of presence and proactively provide services that adapt to the scene without repeated operations by the user.
Although the technical path of open source platform + AI Agent has been verified by the industry, to realize the inclusive technology of smart home, it still needs the joint promotion of the whole industry. Allowing ordinary families to enjoy the convenience of Agent-based smart home without complicated configuration is a sign that smart home has truly entered the era of active intelligence.
