Microsoft working on HomeOS with Lab of Things SDK

[Abbie]

Micrososft continues its work in the field of automation and announces the availability of a development kit for HomeOS.

Developed in partnership with several U.S. universities, the HomeOS system from Microsoft Research aims to unify and simplify the interconnectivity of different technologies from home. Specifically, it is compared to a single kernel with a universal layer which is grafted on several applications to take control of different devices.

Named Lab of Things, this SDK is available in beta and is primarily focused on research. It allows one hand to facilitate communication with different devices, but also to analyze data from different experiments, which are sent to Windows Azure. In addition, the engineers have implemented and are sharing features and analysis code.

Previously, Microsoft mentioned for example the ability to unlock the home remotely from their smartphone or from face detection mechanism coupled to the surveillance camera.

The Lab of Things SDK is published on CodePlex open source directory here.

[Dr.Jones]

Well, I think that that all of these things are still quite complicated to set up for the user and especially from the moment we begin to combine several automation solutions, and want to control everything from a single computer, tablet or smartphone. It will also be the theme of a future test that will carry on RedEye Dock Wi-Fi, which allows control of multiple DLNA devices, Hi-Fi sources, or home theater, or even lighting throughout the home or dedicated room.