The Solution Informed by Vattenfall's years of research and experience in the field of remote control of electrical appliances, Sensel looked to Coactive Networks, a pioneer in the development of residential gateways, to provide the Internet connectivity devices that would enable the range of smart home and telemetry e- services. The gateway was required to support both of these media. Various service providers work in collaboration with Sensel, and can download software to the gateway to configure and upgrade communications with specific appliances and systems in the customer home. An appliance manufacturer might have a specific agreement to monitor refrigerator temperatures, perform service checks, log and transmit content data from bar code scans, and even suggest menus and recipes based on household buying preferences. Customers can communicate directly with appliances, devices, and systems in their homes by going to a private interactive web page where clicking on service icons allows them to monitor status and change settings.
Customers can also use any touch tone telephone to access services, messages or alarms.
Since mid-August 1999, a pilot program has been successful in providing the Sensel smart building services to 50 residential customers and six apartment buildings in Stockholm. Sensel is very pleased to be working with Coactive on such a large project involving cutting-edge technology. By abstracting control information, providing a flexible environment for data translation and manipulation, and publishing a powerful distributed object interface, the IOConnect Architecture addresses the complex issues surrounding real-time device access while streamlining system development. About Coactive Networks Coactive Networks is the leading provider of residential gateways for connecting the Internet to all of the devices in homes and businesses. The Coactive Connector family of gateways enables the Internet to move beyond connecting computers, and enter our lives with a new class of telemetry e-services that are real, personal, and essential for consumers and businesses.