ULE Alliance, the non-profit organisation working on the worldwide adoption of Ultra Low Energy (ULE) technology for IoT, announces a partnership with the telco Orange to bring new smart home solutions to market.

Use of the ULE protocol brings a number of benefits to Orange customers, including low power consumption, extended indoor coverage and a simple installation procedure. The partnership also brings the Orange “Maison Connectée” products, such as the Livebox router, smart bulb, motion detector, smart plug and door sensor at the ULE Alliance stand over at IFA 2019.

Smart home is one of the fastest growing categories in consumer electronics, and Global Fairs and SmartHome Initiative Deutschland look to bridge the link between it and the sales channel with a series of workshops at IFA 2019.

The "Center of Smart Building" in Hall 11.1, will host a series of key workshops explaining the latest in business opportunities, as well as the technical channels involved. Behind the workshops are Chairman Günther Ohland and Managing Director Alexander Schaper-Schneider, who founded the SmartHome Initiative Deutschland association 10 years ago as a cross-sector federal association in Germany representing the entire smart home value-added chain.

Legrand | AV Residential announces the lineup of smart home brands to make an appearance at CEDIA Expo 2019-- namely Chief, Da-Lite, Luxul, Middle Atlantic Products, Nuvo, On-Q, QMotion, Sanus and Vantage.

“At CEDIA Expo 2019, visitors to our booth will see how all of our brands come together in solutions vignettes making the smart home a reality – from audio, human-centric lighting, and networking systems to mounts and enclosures,” the company says. “In addition, we’ll be presenting new products, services and show specials, and a variety of training courses integrators can attend. It’s all happening in Denver, and we can’t wait to see you there.”

Nuvo covers audio solutions with the rack-mount Professional Series Players able to deliver sound to three zones. The company will also show off architectural passive subwoofer and subwoofer amplifiers. Designed for home cinema, the three compact single and dual subwoofers deliver low-frequency impact, while the wall- and rack-mount amps promises "maximum versatility."

Swedish furniture maker IKEA further commits to home automation as it establishes IKEA Home smart, the initiative to add digital smarts into products and solutions, as a dedicated business unit within the company.

“At IKEA we want to continue to offer products for a better life at home for the many people going forward," the company says. In order to do so we need to explore products and solutions beyond conventional home furnishing."

Josh.ai announces a collaboration with audio manufacturer Sonance and parent company TRUFIG bringing Josh.ai voice controls to Sonance products, as well as a TRUFIG in-wall mount for the Josh Micro.

“We’re excited to align with Sonance as a fellow innovator in our industry,” Josh.ai says. “Our device integrations and complementary products are extremely important as we recommend solutions for luxury clients who want performance as well as reliability. This is a natural fit given each of our company’s stances on the need to simplify technology to suit elegant design. Our goal with Josh.ai is to deliver a magical experience, and partnering with Sonance and TRUFIG is another step towards that vision.”

Smart home and security solutions provider Clare announces support for more smart home devices from vendors including Autonomic, August and Danalock, together with an updated Alexa security skill.

The update provides support for the Autonomic line of products within the Clare smart home ecosystem, allowing users and installers to control existing audio systems and stream music from services such as Spotify, TuneIn, Pandora, iHeartRadio and others from the ClareHome app. Functionality includes the ability to group speakers within the home, control playback, adjust volume and view album information, among others.