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Vivint’s Sky is an effort to turn the remote-control home into an actual smart home

Vivint’s Sky is an effort to turn the remote-control home into an actual smart home

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Vivint

Vivint, a smart home service provider, is today announcing Sky, an artificial intelligence package for its smart home system. The company says Sky uses machine learning algorithms and the data collected by the various smart home devices installed, such as thermostats and cameras, to adapt to the home owner’s routine and save energy when no one is home. It will be provided to all of Vivint’s subscribers included with their regular subscription service.

Vivint’s service is a bit different than the do-it-yourself smart home devices that have become popular over the past few years. It provides a complete smart home system, including sensors, devices, and integrations with Nest and Amazon’s Echo, for a starting price of $99 then a monthly subscription fee of $50 to $70 depending on how many devices are installed. The fee covers installation and support of the system. Vivint says that this kind of approach to the smart home mitigates the issues and headaches with compatibility seen by ones purchased and installed yourself.

Sky takes data from smart home gadgets and sensors and applies intelligence to it for automation

The Sky service leverages those sensors and devices installed by Vivint the collect the data necessary to learn habits such as when you wake up, go to bed, and leave the house for the day. It can then automate things such as lights, locks, and thermostats based on your routine. It’s not dissimilar to the learning features built into the Nest thermostat, but since Vivint maintains and integrates many devices and sensors (the company says an average of 14 are installed its customers’ homes), it has much more data available to base its automation.

Sky can also improve its system by confirming actions through the Vivint app. Jeremy Warren, Vivint’s chief technology officer, says the system can learn certain patterns, such as bedtimes, in as little as a few days, while others like when you leave for work may take a few weeks. Sky can be controlled through Vivint’s smartphone app when outside the home or via voice commands to an Amazon Echo inside the home.

While the term “smart home” has been in use for years, Vivint chief strategy and innovation officer Matt Eyring says so far the technology has been closer to a “remote control home,” referring to the fact that you needed to use an app or control panel to make anything happen. With Sky, Vivint is trying to make the home itself smart and adaptive, so you don’t have to control it manually.