Marc Fleury starts an open-source home automation project

It's good to see Marc Fleury go public with his new project, an open-source home automation project (not yet a company) called OpenRemote. We had talked about it back at Open Source Goat Rodeo 2008, but he seemed to be taking his time to actually release something.

The problem that I see with this idea? We already have an excellent Linux-based home automation company called Control4.

Control4 was started years ago by a pair of serial entrepreneurs, Will West and Eric Smith. That broadband in your hotel? They are almost certainly the ones who put it there (iBahn).

I used to be involved with Control4 during my time as an Entrepreneur-in-Residence with Thomas Weisel Venture Partners, an investor in Control4. The company was doing fantastically well back then (2003/2004), and I'm betting it has easily cleared $100 million in sales by now, and has signed up every major distributor and OEM (original equipment manufacturer) one can imagine.

This is a very, very well-run company. Is there room for an open-source competitor?

Perhaps. Remember, however, that Control4 is also based on open source. The company understands and leverages the cost and development advantages inherent in Linux. What, then, would OpenRemote bring to the table?

Perhaps a community taking the OpenRemote reference implementation to different hardware? Or that same community improving the software?

In most cases, these wouldn't be compelling arguments as the reality of open source is that most projects do not get considerable outsize activity. OpenRemote, however, may be different because, like Linux, it is an infrastructure-level project that developers may view as a fun and personally useful challenge that compels their investment of time and aptitude. This, coupled with the rock stars behind the project (Fleury and Asterisk pioneer Mark Spencer), could well foment an open-source community revolution.

So, consider Control4 the Apple of home automation: Based on open source but layered with proprietary software. Could OpenRemote become the Ubuntu of open-source home automation?

We shall see.

[mao995]

A better example than Apple/Ubuntu, at least for consumer adoption, might be the difference between TiVo and MythTV. Myth is a great idea, but way beyond the ability of ordinary people to acquire, install and use. Control4 is designed and built for consumers; unless OpenRemote can match it for simplicity, including acquiring the devices on which the software runs, Control4 will be tough to displace.

[kiwibuntu]

Why displace anyone? Why not grow the whole market and each take a slice? The main thing is to make the concept of home automation more mainstream. If there are enough businesses in the same broad market they can even collaborate on some things and compete on others. Go for it.

[marcf999]

Hey Matt, thanks for the coverage. Don't be so negative, as kiwibuntu points out this is a crowded field and there is room for everyone. In fact we are spending a bunch of time trying understand where we fit with respect to everyone. I have blogged a longer answer at www.openremote.org

[Matt Asay]

marc, how many different blogs do I have to follow to keep track of you!? :-) I'll take a look. And I'll continue to believe there's room for competition until i actually have home automation installed in my house and in those of my friends/family. Until I see it pervasive, it doesn't exist. Anyone that can make it "exist" will win. No one - including Control4 - has done that yet.

[katsnelson]

I think there is significant difference between Control4 and OpenRemote. Control4 may be based on Linux but their delivery channel is 100% through custom installers. There is nothign open abut it. You can't get any of their gear and install it yourself, never mind add value to it. Thisi si typical of the entire home automation industry which is so closed that it makes Microsoft Office look like open source.

OpenRemote targets DYI and professionals and allows for contributions from the community. I personally don't care if something runs on Linux. I do care about being able to get my hands on it, modify it if I want to and contribute if I have something that ads value and I am OK to share it without getting paid.