Victorian roadside assistance and insurance provider RACV began selling a Samsung home IOT kit today, but only to customers in Melbourne.
The Smart Home Starter Kit is a “fantastic first step for Australians to start to connect and automate their homes,” claimed Nicole Brasz, Home Executive General Manager at RACV.
The kit includes Samsung’s mesh router, called the SmartThings Wi-Fi Hub, and SmartThings sensors for connecting TVs, cameras, lights, door locks, smoke detectors, speakers and other devices.
However, customers’ homes must be located in one of the suburbs on this list. RACV will send a technician to install the kit and show customers how to use it. It says a DIY option will be available in early 2019.
The kit includes three Zigbee-compatible motion sensors for detecting when someone enters or leaves a room. It also includes two “multipurpose” ZigBee and Z-Wave-compatible sensors, which RACV states can be used to detect doors and windows opening or vibrations from glass breaking.
Home owners can use Samsung’s SmartThings app to control and automate connected devices. For example, the SmartThings platform could turn on lights and a coffee machine when a home owner wakes up.
The SmartThings platform can also send video alerts about activity inside customers' homes, while they are away from home. Or, it could automatically lock the doors, turn off lights and turn on a security camera when they leave home.
Devices compatible with the Samsung SmartThings platform include Philips Hue and LiFi Labs LIFX light bulbs, Arlo cameras and Yale door locks.
