Leviton Teams with Microsoft to Deliver Windows® Compatible Wireless Home Automation Solutions
Little Neck, January 9, 2007 - Leviton has joined forces with software giant Microsoft Corporation to offer homeowners a way to remotely control lighting and other Z-Wave® enabled home automation schemes using any number of popular consumer electronic products. The relationship also offers software developers a fast, easy way to design Z-Wave based home control applications for these devices using Microsoft's .Net Micro Framework, a rich application development environment that speeds programming of Microsoft Windows®-supported home control programs. Leveraging the power of Microsoft's Visual Studio® 2005 and SQL Server® 2005, software developers, home installers, system integrators, and technology-savvy home automation enthusiasts can develop software interfaces for cell-phones, PDAs, and the Internet to remotely control Z-Wave home networks -- with little or no programming.
Bridging the Microsoft/Leviton connection is the industry's first Z-Wave-compliant Ethernet gateway, the Vizia RF(TM) Foyer from Leviton. Available during the second quarter of this year, the Vizia RF Foyer will connect to a PC or laptop Ethernet port and transmit signals to a Z-Wave home control network. The Z-Wave "mesh" topology from Zensys overcomes the performance issues and high cost of earlier generations of wireless home control systems. Each module is equipped with a two-way radio frequency (RF) activated chip. Z-Wave command signals travel from module to module or "node" to "node" along the network to their final destination. If any form of interference blocks the signal along the way (a wall, or a large appliance like a refrigerator), the signal is automatically rerouted through other modules or "nodes," until it succeeds in reaching its destination. This ingenious, "self-healing" feature of the Z-Wave mesh network makes it so reliable.
The Vizia RF Foyer Ethernet Gateway expands the functionality of Leviton's Vizia RF line of devices, which includes digital dimmers and switches, along with a full-function scene controller, zone-controller, appliance and lamp modules and remote controls. These devices can be installed as a single, stand-alone lighting control network or as part of Z-Wave's larger "intelligent" network of HVAC, access, intruder, fire detection, and appliance controls, as well as other home systems.
Professional system integrators can utilize Microsoft's rapid development framework for a wide range of Z-Wave based home control solutions, including energy management, security and access control, climate control, irrigation, shade and blind controls and security system integration. Microsoft's Coding4Fun Developer Center located at www.Coding4Fun.net will also provide hobbyists, homeowners and professional installers with a variety of projects they can customize in their homes.
For more information, contact: Leviton Manufacturing, 59-25 Little Neck Parkway, Little Neck, NY 11362, www.leviton.com.
