22 Sep KNX IoTech: The future of IoT in homes and buildings automation

The internet of things (IoT) is an exciting technology that has accelerated the transformation of businesses and has been a catalyst in developing important and innovative solutions across many industries. And as the concept of smarter and cleaner living becomes more popular, the home and building automation industry looks to IoT for the next stage in its evolution.

At KNX Association, we believe that the time has come for IoT technology to be more prevalent as sustainable living benefits humans, communities and the environment. That is why we are excited to announce the launch of KNX IoTech, one of the most innovative IoT projects that will serve as the foundation for the next generation of smart homes and buildings.

KNX IoTech is an expansion of the successful KNX technology

IoT technology is built on the principle of many devices communicating and sharing data via the internet, which is something that has been around for much longer. In 2007, KNX launched an extension to the KNX technology to transmit KNX information across an IP network.

This technology, known as KNXnet/IP, is an extension of the traditional KNX cabled system, whereby the entire KNX information is tunnelled or routed in an IP frame. The KNXnet/IP solution has been very successful and is widely used across many different solutions in different markets.

KNX IoTech is an IP technology extension that introduces IoT advantages to consumers and homeowners. It opens the door for many more manufacturers and developers to the KNX technology, thus allowing KNX to offer a wider range of devices and products for the end-users. With KNX IoTech, the KNX data shared can be more easily identified in terms of the source of the data and more easily understood.

Optimizes the collection, analysis and use of IoT

KNX has designed an artificial intelligence prototype that documents the different concepts known in a KNX system and the relation between them. Until now, this information was derived from projects exported by the KNX planning and commissioning tool, ETS, of which the format changed regularly and also contained a lot of information which a typical receiver is not interested in. With the artificial intelligence model, KNX receivers can easily interpret available data and focus only on the relevant information that can allow them to make smarter decisions.

The new standardized KNX IoT interface called 3rd Party API will allow KNX members to add data, making it easy to collect IoT data. The 3rd Party API allows the interface to be fed with information via a file exported by the KNX installer from ETS, providing the same semantic information to anyone or anything accessing it. This makes it much easier for a machine to figure out what the information it has received relates to.

The availability of this additional semantic information gives rise to new possibilities, such as setting up an analytics platform based on this data to optimize operational efficiency, predictive maintenance, energy management visualization, etc. The planning stage will also benefit from this semantic information as it will identify the right buildings IoT that meet modern and future homes and buildings demands.

Such tools could even create rudimentary ETS projects for the KNX installer, who then would only need to do the last fine-tuning before loading the information into the devices.

IoT automation facilitates faster development of projects.

There are so many facets to smart living, and every client has unique needs. Solutions must go beyond being innovative to being customizable. Developing a solution by starting from scratch is a lengthy process, and by the time the product hits the market, some other solution may have captured that market or the needs of that solution itself may have transformed.

With IoT automation technology such as KNX IoTech, manufacturers can have a quicker time to market when designing KNX solutions for smart homes & buildings by having access to the IoT technology. The speed of developing and releasing new products to the market is also reduced by KNX’s highly reliable security mechanisms that are part of the KNX IoTech. Subsequently, the risks and costs involved in bringing a new product into the market also are lowered for the manufacturers. By utilizing KNX’s IoT technology, manufacturers can be a part of the wide range of KNX’s product offerings to provide a complete and customizable solution for homes and buildings.

Smart living for all with KNX IoTech

With KNX IoTech, KNX is opening the doors to new possibilities with IoT technology. Our mission is to make smart living ubiquitous with smart homes and buildings so that life can be more comfortable, secure, sustainable, and convenient. KNX IoTech helps us achieve this mission by widening the products available under KNX solutions through simplification and better access to IoT technology for all manufacturers and professionals. KNX IoTech is already available to be your gateway to the IoT ecosystem.