Why this matters: Most connected-home systems rely on a central control panel to coordinate everything. It opened Nest Weave, a communications protocol it has used internally that lets smart devices talk to one another, to any developer. Others include Petnet, GE, Tyco and Earth Networks. Yale also builds digital locks that tap into Zigbee and Z-Wave, and these don’t work with Nest. Lastly, there’s now a Works with Nest store that features a catalog of all the third-party integrations with Nest’s line of products. The lock can also set a Nest thermostat to “away” mode when it’s locked (I asked how the lock would know that the resident was leaving or locking the door from the inside, but Hu demurred). “We believe that people don’t walk into a store to look for a connected home hub. It all starts with great products”.
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And Nest says that developers can pick and choose which parts of Works with Nest they want to take advantage of. However, this isn’t the case.
Regardless, that isn’t stopping hardware makers from using Nest Weave. The Nest Weave security stack also has application-specific encryption keys, so a hacker can’t unlock the front door by compromising the patio lights. Instead, through Weave, the costs should go down because of how compact and efficient Nest claims it is. “It could not have been built with Wi-Fi”, says Rogers. From there, it’ll not only be straightforward to buy a new device, but to connect one to your network should you already own it.
Yale’s new Linus lock (named for the company’s founder) will be one of the first Weave-compatible products. This is where Weave is supposed to shine – better network redundancy to ensure that there’s not as many vulnerabilities to making sure the device functions as intended. As Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and other tech giants race to own the home of the future, the winners will likely be the companies that manage to get others building for their ecosystems, much in the same way that third-party app makers helped iOS and Android mobile devices soar in popularity.
For example, if someone were to come through the first door protected by a smart lock that could automatically trigger Nest Cam to capture a video. “We’ve been doing it for the past five years and have first-hand experience with the challenges”. Whether or not that makes putting together a complete smart home less of a headache remains to be seen, but it will be interesting to watch it develop over the next year. “[They] have an end-to-end solution when they work with Nest, and can use only the parts of the program that meet their needs”. The Linus lock will be available in early 2016. Nest is not charging developers to use this protocol.
Range – When Nest Weave runs over Thread, each powered device acts as a wireless extender to route information. Now the company is giving developers access to the camera through a new Camera API, something that wasn’t open until today. Controlling your thermostat from a smartphone app is one thing. All integrations with the aforementioned launch partners will be available later this month.
If you’re wondering about the difference from Google’s Weave, Nest tells us that Google’s Weave is meant to cover a more broad set of devices in the IoT space, while Nests’ is aimed at their own products and connectivity in the home.
As its scope grew, Nest evolved into a smart-home platform.
The industry won’t settle on a single technology that drives all smart home devices-at least not any time soon. In other words, the Nest system continues to expand beyond Nest.
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The company also supports HomeKit and cloud-based services for Comcast Xfinity, and it is exploring other possible platforms.
