For those not in the know, ABB is one of the largest engineering companies in the world and is considered the world leader in power and automation.
At the recent IFA Consumer Electronics Show in Berlin, they unveiled a voice-activated home automation system that accompanied their «Free@Home» smart home offering. The company claims that it is one of the most advanced voice systems in the world.
We’ll take a look at what it is and what it can do for you.
What is Free@Home?
Free@Home launched last year and was the company’s attempt to bring its automation expertise to the mass consumer market.

The system is designed to be able to control all aspects of the modern smart home. from blinds to lighting and from central heating to security systems. It can be controlled via a web interface, smartphone/tablet app or wall mounted devices and gives owners the ability to control their home from anywhere in the world.
He also uses «scenes»; users can pre-program different environments into their system, allowing them to change the overall feel of a room at the touch of a button.
The only drawback of the system is that it requires an electrician or wholesaler to install it. It is not designed for home use in the same way that SmartThings projects. .
Why is home automation voice activation so special?
ABB’s latest addition to the system, Voice Home Automation, allows consumers to use voice commands to control more than 60 home automation functions in their homes. While voice activation itself is not a new concept, it is the built-in intelligence of ABB’s offering that has led reviewers to call it «the most advanced in the world.»
The firm used a hybrid voice recognition solution that is capable of understanding grammar speech and statistical speech. In practice, this means that you can give him commands and talk to him as if he were a normal person — phrases like «the bedroom light is on» and «can you turn on the light in my bedroom» would have the desired effect.
In addition, the system does not need to be trained — instead, it adapts its understanding of your commands based on the words entered into the Free@Home parent system. For example, you can enter «John’s Office», «Rachel’s Bedroom» and «Upstairs Area» in Free@Home and the system itself will take care of the rest.
The combination of grammar-based speech and named rooms means you can ask yes/no questions like «Is the back door closed?» «Are the curtains open in my bedroom?» And “Will there be central heating? later? «.
The product will now also understand the logic «If…Then…». This is more useful than it first appears; imagine walking out the door and saying, «If I’m not home by 6 pm, turn on the outdoor lights» or «If it gets hotter than 25 degrees, turn on the air conditioning» as you walk out the door. ,