If you’ve done work with designers and architects, you know that they are looking for design-minded or discreet solutions for technology. Two trending categories that can help integrators win over those trade partners on projects – and their customers – are motorized shades and voice control.
And speaking of those categories, Brittany Mier y Teran, Partnerships and CI Channel Manager for North America, Somfy; and Casey Levy-Tulloch, Manager of Business Strategy and Partnerships Team, Josh.ai, talk about the benefits of their latest integration partnership in this week’s CE Pro Podcast episode.
The motors and window treatments provider and voice command and AI specialist stand to help their dealers make inroads in the design department thanks to the recent announcement.
Through this integration, Josh.ai can control the full line of RTS and ZigBee wireless motorization products from Somfy. This includes a wide range of treatments and applications from Roman shades and drapery, to awnings, pergolas, and rolling shutters, Mier y Teran notes.
The integration not only includes access to shading systems with conversational voice commands, but also automation capabilities based on factors like time of day and climate conditions to ensure a client’s surroundings receive the proper exposure to daylight.
Mier y Teran and Levy-Tulloch discussed how the integration came about, why it’s important, potential applications for dealers and their customers, scoring discreet technology and high-style aesthetics points with designers and more in the podcast discussion.
“We’re really excited to have this integration launching because it’s been a long time in the making,” Mier y Teran says. “For us it’s really important to have a well-rounded and full suite of connectivity, and in the CEDIA space and CI space that includes Josh.ai. They have a level of automation and voice control that is unmatched by others and we’re excited to round out our suite of what we offer for control integration products.”
Levy-Tulloch says Josh.ai takes dealer feedback when creating a product development roadmap, and notes that Somfy – and all of its myriad partners that deploy its OEM’d motors – has been a priority for a while now as well with the frequency of integrator requests.
“We’re excited to launch this partnership so close to CEDIA so that dealers can now see that integration in action at our booth this year,” he adds.
He says voice controls to open and close shades, as well as related commands for lighting, are very commonly used among owners of Josh systems, so Somfy solutions will naturally fit right in.
“Today, Josh is location-aware, we know what room you’re in when you give a command … So I can just walk in and say something like, ‘Open the shades’ or even ‘Open the blackouts’ or solar sheers, which is what we would refer to as a subtype of a shade. And all that for us is pretty standard,” Levy-Tulloch explains.
“We do our top 10 voice commands Josh receives from our customers and the frequency of that, and an ‘open/close shade’ command was No. 5 on our list last year [and No. 6 in 2020] and there are lighting-related commands in the top five as well.”
He adds that incorporating scenes to the programming for motorized shades is powerful as well for Somfy and Josh integrators.
To hear the full conversation with Mier y Teran and Levy-Tulloch, watch or download the CE Pro Podcast above. Find past episodes of the CE Pro Podcast by subscribing to the CE Pro YouTube channel or our Apple and Spotify podcast feeds.