Ooredoo to commercialise smart home project by ‘early 2015’

Speaking at the launch of the Smart Living Baytcom Project at The Pearl-Qatar yesterday, al-Sayed said the project would be commercialised “in the next three to four months” once it finalises details such as costing and characteristics of the products.

He added, “We are still discussing details such as the price and characteristics of the products and once these things have been finalised and are available in our shelves, our customers would be able customise our solutions according to their needs.”

Al-Sayed stressed that the urgency to commercialise the Smart Living Baytcom Project was in line with Ooredoo’s promise “to showcase the future” during the opening of ITU Telecom World 2014, which concluded yesterday at Qatar National Convention Centre.

“Nobody else has done this in Qatar. This is the future,” said al-Sayed, referring to the state-of-the-art, three-storey villa. “And I believe we have delivered our promise during ITU Telecom World that Qatar can be among the ranks of smart countries worldwide,” he added.

Al-Sayed said Ooredoo has partnered with local companies for the development of the project. Among them are United Development Company and Hemaya Security Company.

“Ooredoo provides the connectivity while our partner delivers the applications, gadgets, wiring, batteries and even consultancies for the diagram of new houses or even existing structures.”

Ooredoo chief strategy officer Mansoor al-Khater pointed out that partnerships with other companies open opportunities for local entrepreneurs and startups to contribute to the development of the smart home concept.

Ooredoo assistant director (Business Development & Innovation) Ehab Shebli said the Smart Living Baytcom Project is a prototype of the company’s “Proof of Concept Demo House” designed to provide an integrated experience.

Shebli said the villa was designed to allow family members to customise their everyday living using high-tech features for home entertainment and automation, smart utilities, concierge services, personal cloud and home security.

“With just a touch of a button, any member of the family has control over almost everything - from the windows, temperature control, lighting and home appliances, among many others,” he said.

Shebli said the house can be controlled using any smart device, whether on Apple iOS or Android. One of the advantages of the technology, he added, is that the home owner can activate or deactivate any home application as well as monitor home security remotely.

“In case a home owner is expecting a delivery while he or she is away, the person can allow the delivery personnel to enter the house for a short period. Any suspicious activity could also be reported remotely to Hemaya, which will deploy security immediately,” he said.

Last month, Ooredoo organised the inaugural Baytcom Hackathon, a special contest for designers, app developers and creative technologists, who created new applications and platforms for smart, sustainable and enriching lifestyle solutions.

The winning application is currently being developed into a commercial solution that would be released by Ooredoo next year.