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| EMagazine Volume 5 Issue 3 June / July 2000 |
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Toys Article - June 2000 - [HTI Home Page] |
HomeTech Hot Products Continuously Updated [Click Message To Learn More] |
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Aladn(tm)
Home Internetworking "Aladn enables remote Internet access of devices in a home, safely and securely. With the proper password, a homeowner can turn on the heat in a snow-bound vacation home before driving there, or receive an e-mail at work when the kids arrive home from school." |
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Home networking is hot, and it's about time. Most of us are aware that home automation -- the networking of simple devices -- has been around for well over twenty years. Finally, the easy affordability of personal computers and the wide reach of the Internet are bringing the concept of a networked, automated home into the mainstream. Companies no less than Microsoft, Sun, and Cisco are developing systems to interconnect all of the devices in our homes, from computers to appliances, so they can intelligently share data to save us time and money.
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Sage Systems provides the answer. Sage developed its Aladn(tm) technology as a reliable, low-cost solution for networking everyday devices to each other and to the Internet. This "Internetworking(tm)" capability gives people powerful, intuitive mastery over their home and business environments like older more complex and expensive home automation systems, but at a price and level of simplicity that's finally accessible to the vast majority of homeowners. Additionally, Aladn provides easy and secure remote Internet access to those devices. And it allows everyday devices in a home to be cost-effectively connected to the more powerful computing products on today’s broadband home networks.
Aladn is an acronym that stands for "Autonomous Local Area Distributed Network." It takes advantage of the existing local area network in every home, the power wires connecting each electric outlet, light switch and appliance. Aladn places intelligence in everyday devices so they can bi-directionally communicate with one another in a peer-to-peer relationship…much the way people communicate in a group. Aladn is a complete technology and product solution that provides a simple, low cost way to implement advanced home networking and control functionality including remote access, monitoring and command of everyday devices via the Internet.
The Aladn system consists of four basic product categories:
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Physical devices, such as thermostats, electric outlets, and dimming light switches;
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The "intelligence" for each of those devices, provided by a very compact embedded operating system (also available for inclusion in appliances and consumer electronics);
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A reliable networking technology for communication over existing electric power wires;
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Different types of Aladn Internet Gateway products which connect the local area network (power wires) to the World Wide Web through standard phone lines, digital subscriber lines (DSL), cable modems, Ethernet, etc.
An owner of a home automation system would expect to be able to have "macros" built into the control system that with the touch of one button close the drapes, turn down the lights and turn on a home theater system. This level of functionality is usually made possible by a central computer or server, with many individual control “nodes” wired together and perhaps an elegant touch screen interface -- all powered by a complex programming language. For this level of control, you can expect to spend $10,000 or more. Aladn can provide these capabilities for a small fraction of that price.
Aladn also enables remote Internet access of devices in a home, safely and securely. With the proper password, a homeowner can turn on the heat in a snow-bound vacation home before driving there, or receive an e-mail at work when the kids arrive home from school. They could turn on the hot tub from a web-enabled cell phone halfway through a busy commute, or use a Palm VII PDA to see whether the iron was accidentally left plugged-in (and then turn it off!). The list of web-enabled benefits is virtually endless and this extended functionality has created much more value than just automation alone.
The hallmark of the Aladn technology is that it was designed from the ground up to be a simple and inexpensive system. System set-up, remote access, control and monitoring is done using a standard web browser through a simple, intuitive interface. By offloading all of the brainpower necessary for the one-time set up and ongoing access of the system to a website, the devices in the home don't require any central computer. Each has just enough of a "brain" to accomplish its tasks and communicate with other Aladn devices while keeping their cost to a bare minimum. And, Aladn products can also coexist with more complex broadband computing network systems. All of this means that automation doesn't have to be left behind in the "broadband rush" to connect computers. Internetworking of simpler everyday devices can play a cost-effective part in the new world of the networked home.
Because of their low cost and ease of installation, Aladn products have widespread appeal in the real estate and utility sectors, and are being deployed in new homes nationwide this year. The Aladn Energy Management Suite of products will be installed by residential builder Shea Homes in California this Summer, and by Kaufman & Broad in their showrooms nationwide this Fall. Spurred by the home networking buzz, and made possible by Aladn technology's cost breakthroughs and revolutionary web connectivity, it seems home automation and Internetworking have finally come of age.
You can test drive Aladn yourself by visiting the "live demo" section of our website at www.aladn.com. Just take a moment to register and obtain your own password and you can control appliances in the Sage Systems office and see the results on a live webcam. We believe Aladn will be the future of Internetworking everyday devices. Try it for yourself and let us know if you agree, e-mail: info@aladn.com.
Steve Raschke is the visionary behind Aladn(tm) who founded Sage Systems in 1996 to develop and market the technology. He is a 20-year veteran of the residential and commercial electronic systems industries with substantial experience in the utility, technology, data systems, and consumer electronics sectors. Prior to starting Sage Systems, he launched Digital Interiors and held lead management and product development roles at automation products leader Panja/AMX, and consumer electronics giant Monster Cable. Steve authored Lucasfilm’s THX home theater specification for cabling, designed electronic special effects for the motion picture industry, including the Robocop movie series and the soon-to-be-released 20th Century Fox movie, MonkeyBone. Steve has built theaters, automation systems, and recording studios for music and computer industry luminaries including Neil Young, John Sculley, Bill Atkinson and Merle Haggard. Learn more about Sage Systems at www.SageSys.com.
