khaleej times
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A D V E R TISI N G S U P P LEME N T
Smart homes no longer a limited luxury People in the UAE can transform their residences to an intelligent entity ■■ Farhana Chowdhury
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one are the days of fumbling in the dark for the light switch and knocking things over in the process. Smart homes are now a reality, where you can schedule everything — from bright lights to playing your favourite tunes — to turn on right before you arrive at the main door. All this using a simple connected device. Home automation was once a concept limited to novels and movies, but with the advent of technology, driven by dreams of a futuristic
society, has led us to where we are now. “We have gone through three generations of smart homes that have evolved over the years. Current systems are now 100 per cent wireless, secure and extremely reliable. It adds a level of personalisation and interactivity, and integrates with your lifestyle,” Shaun Shulba, Founder and Director of UAE-based Avario Home Automation, told Khaleej Times. He describes smart homes as ‘living intelligence’ — a functional entity that goes beyond basic requirements. This means you could have your home programmed to call a taxi, or even prepare your grocery list. Referring to its state-of-the-art solutions, Shulba shares: “We build a ‘brain’ that ‘talks’ to thousands of smart home products on the market, and then add a level of logic to it to
enable them to work together seamlessly.” In addition to convenience and the appeal of a welcoming home, the transition to smart homes holds many benefits for the environment. “When talking about Dubai, we are leaving one of the biggest carbon footprints, but smart technology can bring it down, as long as it is implemented by professionals. You must invest in good integrators who understand smart homes and the ecosystem, and build around that. It is the goal of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to transform Dubai into a sustainable, smart enabled city, and we are proud to share that vision,” he concludes. — farhana@khaleejtimes.com
» Avario Home Automation
Game changer in the industry Avario provides energy savings, luxury and cool tech, all wrapped up in a beautifully designed, wireless and affordable package that you can take with you when you move ■■ Cordell Bishop
Richard Scott-Smith, Founder/CEO
Smart “stuff” is the new must-have lifestyle gadget. The goal of a smart home should be to make your home more intuitive, your life simpler, reduce your DEWA bill, and let’s be honest; impress your friends. But these technologies are either overpriced, messy to install and get outdated quickly, or come from a new generation of cheap, high-tech gadgetry; requiring days of tinkering and frustration for even the most tech-savvy to get them doing half of what you want. Khaleej Times caught up with Richard ScottSmith and Shaun Shulba, the founders of Avario, at their Dubai headquarters to find out
what makes them different, and how Avario is disrupting the GCC’s smart home market. Says Richard: “Avario is the brain that pulls everything together into one control point; we designed it, we manufacture it and we install your complete automation ecosystem, so we can ensure your home does exactly what you want.” Avario is now being installed in homes around the world, adding real intelligence to thousands of compatible “smart” devices. The results are a much smarter smart home; motorised blinds react to ambient light and help regulate room temperature keeping AC bills lower, and cool things are possible like dimming lights when you press play on a movie. Shaun continues: “We are not quite at Tony Stark’s house levels yet, but we are close.” Avario provides energy savings, luxury and cool tech, all wrapped up in beautifully designed, wireless and affordable package that you can take with you when you move. This is a game changer.
» Novus Automation
Customised solutions NOVUS empowers its customers by humanising technology, reducing complexity and getting the homes and buildings to think with the help of integrated smart technology As a brand independent system integrator, Novus Automation selects the best technologies to create individualised bespoke design to satisfy the specifications and requirements of each application. Whether it is a hotel, a building, a home or a multidwelling unit, a meeting room, a conference centre, a museum or an entertainment room, NOVUS’ design team is able to create functional, reliable and scalable solutions reducing the need for human intervention. The integration solutions it provides cover: Lighting controls (Dali, DMX, LED Switching and Dimming); Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning controls; Curtain, Drapes and Window controls; Hotel Guest Room Management Systems; Audio Visual systems; Board and Entertainment Room Automation; CCTV Surveillance cameras, for monitoring and recording; Audio Video Intercom systems; Access Control; Intruder detection and notification; Biometrics, RF and Facial Recognition systems; IPTV and SMATV Systems. As a CEDIA member, (CEDIA represents 3,700 member companies worldwide), NOVUS is committed to CEDIA’s Code of Ethics, which is designed to promote qual-
Leon Beuyukian, Director
ity of service, responsiveness, responsible business practices, proper legal and ethical conduct, and overall excellence, among others. NOVUS is “The Enabler” where smart technologies for buildings, hotels and homes is not just a choice but the customer’s tailormade creation. NOVUS’ core competencies cover the design of the solution, hardware supply, engineering, installation, programming, testing and commissioning of the automation systems, as well as providing maintenance and extended warranties. NOVUS empowers its customers by humanising technology, reducing complexity and getting the homes and buildings to think with the help of integrated smart technology.