本文摘要：Dear house: When I wake up, please turn on the lights, crank up the heat, play some tunes and brew my coffee.亲爱的房子：当我睡觉的时候，请求关上电灯，徵低室温，敲点音乐，把我的咖啡煮好。

Dear house: When I wake up, please turn on the lights, crank up the heat, play some tunes and brew my coffee.亲爱的房子：当我睡觉的时候，请求关上电灯，徵低室温，敲点音乐，把我的咖啡煮好。Who hasnt dreamt of a house that can take orders? Austin Powerss bed rotates and plays bossa nova at his command. Wallace and Gromit, the animated Englishman and his dog, live in a house that can wake you, drop you into pants and spread jam on your toast -- though it never quite works as designed.谁未曾梦想享有一座需要言听计从的房子？《王牌大贱谍》(Austin Powers)主角奥斯汀鲍尔斯的床就能在他的指令下转动一起，播出巴萨诺瓦音乐。

动画片《超级百变掌门狗》(Wallace and Gromit)当中的英国人华力士和他的爱犬格罗米特就生活在一座可以叫你睡觉、给你穿着裤子、给吐司沾上果酱的房子――只不过它总是不几乎按照设计想法来运转。While Im still looking for the perfect Internet-connected toaster, I feel a little like Wallace. My smart house has a Nest thermostat, app-controlled Philips Hue light bulbs, Dropcam streaming security camera, Sonos wireless speakers and a few other automated thingamabobs. Yet for all that, my devices dont know how to work together.虽然我还没寻找极致的联网烤面包机，但我感觉自己早已类似于华力士那样了。我的“智能”房屋有Nest温控器、靠应用于程序控制的飞利浦(Philips) Hue灯泡、Dropcam的串流安监摄像头、Sonos无线扬声器和其他几样自动化的东西。然而，这些设备并不知道怎样协同工作。

Thats because I need more devices! A few companies have begun selling hardware and apps that orchestrate different devices in your home so they talk to each other and to your phone. Ive been testing three of these controllers, none of which charge a monthly fee: the $299 Revolv, $99 Staples Connect and $99 SmartThings.这是因为我还必须更好的设备！有几家公司早已开始出售协商住宅内有所不同设备、使之能互相交流并与你的电话交流的硬件和设备。我这段时间在测试三款这样的控制器。它们都不缴纳月费，分别是299美元的Revolv、99美元的Staples Connect和99美元的SmartThings。

When I began playing around with these systems several weeks ago, I had the feeling we were on the cusp of solving the smart-home puzzle. So many startups are focusing on home automation and security, while big guns like Google (which just bought Nest) are quietly preparing their moves as well. But bringing any of the current options home will make your life unnecessarily complex. Hobbyists will enjoy tinkering with these systems, but for anybody else who cares about their marriages, children and sanity, my recommendation is to wait.几个星期前开始摆弄这些系统的时候，我感觉我们早已坐落于答案智能家居谜题的边缘。许许多多的初创企业都在专攻住宅自动化和住宅安全性，同时谷歌（刚并购了Nest）等大牌企业也在悄悄地布局。但把目前这些解决方案中的任何一项拿回家去都会使你的生活显得不必要地简单。

玩家不会讨厌鼓捣这些系统，但对于关心婚姻、孩子和心智身体健康的其他人来说，我的建议是再行等等。When you automate your home with a hub today, physical controls, whether a light switch or coffeepot buttons, suddenly become unusable or screw up an automated program. You and your family will have to think in terms of programming your lives. And no single hub can yet talk to all smart devices.今天当你用某个控制中心构建住宅的自动化之后，实体操纵装置（不管是电灯电源还是咖啡壶按钮）不会在忽然之间显得无法用于，或者与自动化程序不相容。你和家人将被迫考虑到怎样给生活编程。而且目前还没哪一个控制中心可以跟所有智能设备对话。

My house can now do some nifty tricks, like alerting my phone whenever a door opens, and turning on my porch light when I get a few blocks from home. But figuring it all out was time-consuming, expensive and occasionally screwball.现在我的房子可以骗一些精妙的戏法，比如在家中某个房门关上的时候警告我的手机，在我离家仅有几个街区的时候关上门廊灯。但要全部搞懂，既费时又费钱，有时候还变得很怪异。Smartening up a home begins with installing a hub. All three are about the size of a big sandwich, designed to be plugged into a home network and hidden away. The problems begin when they connect. SmartThings doesnt have Wi-Fi, so it has to be plugged into a router. Thats fine if your router sits in the middle of your house, but my house is long and narrow, with the router at one end.住宅智能化首先是加装一个控制中心。我试用的这三款控制中心都是大号三明治大小，都是要终端住宅网络并且很隐密。

联网的时候就开始出有问题。SmartThings没Wi-Fi，所以必需放入一台路由器。如果路由器坐落于房子的中央方位那就让说道，但我的房子又宽又较宽，路由器放到了房子的一头。

Revolv, wirelessly communicating from the middle of my house, seemed to do the best job sensing everything. But it couldnt even reach wireless Insteon light bulbs on both ends of my house. I had to move them closer to make my hub happy.Revolv从房子中央通过无线方式交流，在感应器所有东西方面或许是伟大的。但它连房子两头的Insteon无线灯泡都认识将近。

为了让这个控制中心失望，我被迫把灯泡后移得更加将近一些。Sadly, that was just the beginning. When it comes to my morning routine, ideally a hub would know I was awake because my activity tracker would tell it Im stirring. But none of the hubs yet talk to wearables like the Fitbit and the Jawbone Up. I installed three motion sensors outside my bedroom to alert my hubs.可叹的是，这意味着是开始。

处置晨间任务的时候，理想的情况是控制中心需要告诉我早已睡了，因为我的活动跟踪器不会告诉他它我在忙乎。但还没哪一款控制中心能跟Fitbit、Jawbone Up之类的可穿着设备交流。我在卧室外加装了三台动作感应器来警告控制中心。

Once I triggered a motion sensor, Revolv was the only one smart enough to complete all the tasks I asked it to do: Turn on lights, crank up my Nest thermostat, activate my Sonos speakers and turn on the power to my coffee maker. Revolv can do this in part because it has more radio transmitters than the competition.当我启动时了动作感应器之后，只有Revolv的智能化程度需要已完成我发布命令的所有任务：熄灯、下调Nest温控器温度、转录Sonos扬声器、给咖啡机通电。Revolv之所以需要已完成这些任务，一个原因是它的无线电发射器比竞争对手更加多。

Though Revolv tapped into my Nest unlike the others, a representative for Nest warned me that it isnt an authorized use, and any software updates could disrupt the thermostats compatibility. For that reason, I cant recommend these hubs for Nest owners. The three hubs do work with other thermostat makers.虽然Revolv构建了对Nest温控器的掌控，大同小异其他控制中心，但Nest公司的一名代表警告我，这不是许可用途，如果软件升级，则有可能阻碍温控器与控制中心的兼容性。因此我无法向Nest用户引荐这几款控制中心。这三款控制中心与其他温控器倒是相容的。

This brings up a core issue. Many device makers havent opened up their systems to home controllers because of concerns over security and technology standards. Without more cooperation, hub makers are unable to fulfill the dream of a fully automated home. The Staples hub maker says it doesnt want to support unencrypted devices, and forges partnerships to ensure stability.这就带给了一个核心问题。出于安全性和技术标准方面的考虑到，许多设备生产商还没向住宅掌控装置开放系统。

在没更加多合作的情况下，控制中心生产商就无法构建住宅全自动简化的梦想。Staples控制中心生产商说道，它想反对并未加密设备，并通过与设备制造商结为合作关系来保证平稳。Getting the software right is another challenge. All three hubs let you turn on and off devices via your smartphone. But programming automatic routines requires solving logic puzzles the likes of which you see on the LSAT: If the hub senses A during B time of day, then it will do C, but only if D isnt around.设置软件又是一重挑战。三款控制中心都容许你通过智能手机关上、重开设备。

但撰写自动化的日常事务必须解决问题一些类似于法学院入学考试的逻辑题：如果控制中心在一天的A时刻感官到B事件，那么它将继续执行C任务，但前提是D事件没再次发生。The best software of the lot, by far, was SmartThings. With it, you build commands around specific needs and moments. I used its rise and shine template to tell it to look for action on a sensor between 6:45 a.m. and 8 a.m., and then turn on lights, speakers and my coffeepot. Another program turns off all of those things when I -- or at least my phone -- leaves the house. But sometimes those programs would inexplicably fail -- and I couldnt tell if it was my bad programming, or something wrong with the system.目前为止软件做到得最差的是SmartThings。它是环绕明确的市场需求和时刻来创建指令。

我用它“睡觉晒太阳”的模板让它在早上6点45晚间早上八点的时间段内注意一个传感器上的动作，然后关上灯光、扬声器和咖啡壶。另一个程序在我（至手是我的手机）离开了房子的时候把这一切都开动。但有时候这些程序知道何故失灵了，我也不告诉是我编程不对，还是系统出有了问题。

Staples Connect offered some of the same capabilities, but in an interface that was much more difficult to use and often more buggy.Staples Connect也有一部分完全相同的功能，但它的界面用一起无以了很多，而且经常变得更为神经兮兮的。Revolv may have been the hero at connecting to the most devices, but it software lacks the ability to understand conditions, like time of day. I could create a good morning routine to be activated by the motion sensor, but if I got up in the middle of the night, the program would kick off then, too. One Sunday night, it kicked off my morning routine over and over, with lights blazing and heater blasting. Im sorry, Revolv, but I just unplugged you. The company, says it is working on adding conditions to the app.在相连设备最少这一点上，Revolv有可能却是最佳的，但它的软件缺少解读条件（比如时刻）的能力。我可以设置一串“早上好”的指令，由动作感应器来转录，但如果我在半夜睡觉，程序也不会转录。

一个星期天的晚上，它一遍又一遍地启动我早上要做到的那些事情，灯光强光、温控器热浪叛人。对不起Revolv，但我不能拔除你的电源了。Revolv公司说道，它正在为应用程序减少条件。

My experience speaks to a broader problem. Our lives often have a rhythm, but it will require a much more sophisticated artificial intelligence to program a house around the way we live. Sometimes I want the lights off at 11; other times, people come home late. Id like to be alerted if theres unexpected motion at home, but not if its a cat.我的体验说明了了一个更大的问题。我们的生活经常是有节奏的，但要环绕我们的生活方式来给住宅编程，目前人工智能的复杂程度还远远不够。

有时候我想要在11点钟开灯，还有些时候大家回家较早。如果屋内有车祸动作，我期望取得警告，但如果是一只猫那就算了。Its easy to see how home automation will advance -- all of the hub makers say theyre regularly rolling out updates to make their software more intuitive and compatible with more devices. But my life needs more flexibility than what todays hubs can handle.住宅自动化的变革可以很更容易看获得――所有控制中心生产商都说道，它们正在大大地发售改版，让软件更为直观、与更好的设备相容。

但我的生活必须的灵活性机动性，远超过了今天的控制中心需要应付的水平。

本文来源：雷火体育-www.ylzsg.com