Following a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign which saw it raise over $1.5 million, home automation manufacturer NEEO has announced it has signed an exclusive distribution agreement to bring its technology to the UK and German market with OneAV.
OneAV will serve as the exclusive trade and pro distributor for NEEO products including the NEEO remote and ‘Brain’ home automation hub in the UK and Germany. Product packages will also be on offer for OneAV trade account holders, available immediately.
Commenting on the partnership, OneAV sales director James Trumper said: “We view NEEO as the most desirable remote control on the market and we’re so excited to be able to supply this incredible product to our marketplace.”
Co-founder and CEO of NEEO, Raphael Oberholzer, added: “OneAV will provide an excellent service to customer installers who want to provide NEEO as part of their smart home projects.”
Billed a smart home system that “lets you of all your devices from one place and even knows who is picking it up,” California-based NEEO was founded in 2014 and has spent the recent years compiling a database of numerous devices (including Sonos, Apple TV and Nest) and bolstering its crowdsourcing efforts. Its Kickstarter campaign closed in February 2015, backed by 6,081 people who pledged anything from $1 to $10,000 to bring the product to market. An initial target of $50,000 closed at $1,558,280.
The NEEO Brain hub communicates with devices in the home and facilitates control of audio, lighting and HVAC, in addition to TV commands via the NEEO remote or iOS and Android app. Offering 360-degree infrared coverage, the Brain features 4 antennas for Bluetooth 4.0, Bluetooth BLE (WiFi, ZigBee, Thread and Z-Wave protocols.
The remote incorporates a 291 ppi display and perhaps more distinctively features patent-pending technology which recognises your hand when you pick it up – powered by sensors in the remote which match the palm of a hand with a user profile (to automatically display your playlists, films, and favourites). The use of hand recognition also supports the implementation of parental controls and the creation of a guest profile for those who aren’t regularly in the home.
The remote is powered by a rechargeable battery and runs for approximately a month after being fully charged. For those annoying instances when no one in the house can find the remote, NEEO is furthermore on hand to activate a ‘SOS’ alarm via a user’s smartphone to locate it.
Scenes can easily be programmed to allow devices in the home to be automated to suit the everyday routine of a homeowner, and can be extended via the app.
Since backers received the first NEEO products in November 2017 the company has been working on a comprehensive software upgrade to be rolled out in the next year to deal with any remaining niggles with the product. This, and the rest of the product line’s features will demoed on an international stage at next year’s ISE at OneAV’s stand in Hall 1.
OneAV provides localised support for all of its product lines via offices and training facilities in Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.