It might seem there were only two stories about Crestron for ISE 2016: the company’s just-announced withdrawal from CEDIA (Expo) 2016, and its rollout of the new PinPoint app for life in the workplace.

But if you managed to get past those two dramatic developments, you saw some really useful new applications for home automation.

First, let’s get the biggies out of the way. Crestron still isn’t exhibiting at CEDIA 2016, the big U.S. trade show for the home technology channel. A couple of weeks ago, Crestron said it was leaving the big show because the event had strayed too far from the luxury market where Crestron plays.

I spoke with CEO Randy Klein during ISE and there is no other “real” story. Home technology is headed to the masses, and so is the industry. Crestron wants to continue its focus on a more discriminating dealer and customer base. So that’s where the company is spending the CEDIA money (and then some).

Now on to big ISE news No. 2: PinPoint for Fusion.

PinPoint is a Bluetooth beacon and proximity-aware framework that Crestron introduced a few years ago. In the home, it’s used mostly to tell the Crestron system which room you’re in, so if you’re standing in the living room, it pulls up the Crestron controls for that particular room.

At ISE 2016, Crestron demonstrated PinPoint with the company’s Fusion enterprise-management platform for the utmost in workplace efficiency.

Imagine a busy office where everyone has the PinPoint app on their mobile device. Meetings can be arranged on the fly based on group size, type of A/V equipment required, proposed meeting length and the proximity of the meeting space – with proximity determined via beacons placed around the facility.

The beacons furthermore can be used to help direct guests to the meeting room, much like a GPS for the building.  

When guests arrive, they can instantly share content with each other … and with colleagues around the world via video conference.

It’s all in the name of a more productive work day – workflow optimization, they call it.

Interesting New Home Automation Developments

Elsewhere around the sprawling Crestron stand at ISE was evidence that Crestron most certainly is not abandoning the residential business, as so many alarmists presumed from the CEDIA pull-out.

Here’s the interesting news in home technology, with details and images in the gallery.

• Third-party keypads and controllers now Cresnet enabled!
• Super-cute mid-priced keypad with display
• Crestron now supports its second security system in Pyng
• DigitalMedia joins Pyng through Home Elements
• MyCrestron cloud-enabled dashboard gets richer and richer
• The Randy & Fred Show

View the new Crestron Home Automation Products here

• Page 1