OnQ Technologies Inc., Harrisburg, Pa., and Vicinium Systems Inc., Pleasanton, Calif., have partnered to allow builders and developers to provide a complete, pre-configured home networking solution for homeowners. Leo Shulman, CEO of Vicinium Systems, said the partnership will help make home networking products and solutions viable for homeowners.
“Nobody today would buy a computer and then expect to have to shop around for an operating system to run on it. There's no reason why a house should be any different,” Shulman said.“Smart homes won't become popular until the technology behind them is transparent, practical and affordable. We've done that by combining these two complementary products into one complete home control and home management solution.”
OnQ's industry home networking and automation systems provide the hardware infrastructure for these smart homes, with modules that support video monitoring, telecommunications, appliance control, lighting control, home networking and home security. In conjunction with a Vicinium enabled residential gateway, running NeighborMation software, the OnQ system will distribute broadband and other services throughout the entire home.
The OnQ Home Network System offers an organized approach to the delivery of voice, video, data, automation and control to the residential marketplace. The patented modular approach provides flexibility and customization for single family and multi-family applications. The Service Center provides an array of snap in modules supporting telephone, data, LAN, audio and video services creating the total solution for OnQ customers. These hardware solutions combine with a multitude of support programs. Vicinium creates a new dimension to the Internet, by tightly integrating information with real world devices and home systems. Vicinium develops software solutions that enable Neighborhood Automation. This technology leverages the benefits of broadband connectivity to link local content and services to physical activities within the home and the neighborhood.
“Vicinium's NeighborMation services will really show off what our systems can do — from entertainment to automation to home security,” said Charles Tartaglione, vice president of OnQ Technologies. “They turn automated houses into automated neighborhoods, providing a whole new meaning to the term ‘networked home.’”