Alexander Bulavin, Ready for Sky: More than 200 models of smart devices are already connected to our IoT-platform

Alexander Bulavin: Ready for Sky is the Singapore company the developer of the global IoT-platform and adjacent consumer services. The R4S platform of the same name integrates smart devices for use by end consumers, solutions for OEM producers, opportunities for brands and retail chain stores. The complete solution Ready for Sky covers the hardware, cloud services and mobile applications.

The company proposes the solutions in the market since 2014. Development centers R&D are in China, Russia, in Cyprus and Malta. Now the company provides over 200 different ready smart devices managed through uniform mobile application of Ready for Sky. Clients of the company are different international producers of small appliances, devices and sensors for security of the house among which there are also brands popular in Russia.

We constantly develop and we improve mobile application of Ready for Sky. The application is already installed over 800,000 times on smartphones users from OS Android and iOS. Many of the positions developed by us belong to the kitchen equipment therefore we decided to offer the user and adjacent services, namely - implemented on the platform the module of the user recipes SkyFood where each user irrespective of is or not at him the smart equipment can browse the book of recipes by the set parameters, and also bring own recipes, at the same time earning loyalty points to purchase to itself on kitchen smart innovation.

One more of such services is a peculiar marketplace of SkyMarket which gives an opportunity to order from partners of the platform the food and other goods necessary for preparation of dishes from the built-in book of recipes for smart crock-pots or the shared directory (the project is in a test stage). Besides for users who have only intentions to purchase a smart product an opportunity it will be simple to install the application and to collect the basket of the order with home delivery.

One more service available without connection to devices – SkyManager. This module is available already now and the task manager performs function. In SkyManager the most frequent user queries which are brought in a format of the preset templates are implemented.

As the platform is open, it will be interesting both to owners of OEM/ODM brands, and single developers. Moreover, we offer special terms and for producers of food, household goods, small retail chain stores and the other companies which can use the platform as a new sales channel. Thanks to the R4S platform producers receive direct link with consumers in real time, for the purpose of improvement of properties of a product and optimization of the sales strategy.

Alexander Bulavin: As I already spoke, more than 200 models of various devices are already connected to the platform. Among them there are devices for climate control, housekeeping, fitness gadgets, sensors for security of the house and the fast notification about emergency situations. The most numerous category of devices is small appliances for kitchen. Here smart crock-pots of different price categories, smart coffee makers, grills, ovens, devices for pastries and frying, smart teapots lamps are provided. We managed to implement successfully the project of full-fledged smart kitchen based on Ready for Sky. So on almost all to technologies known today can be managed cooking remotely.

Program part of the platform – the free application on the smartphone, uniform for control of all R4S devices. Communication between phone and the equipment is performed through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi depending on purpose of the device. The BLE standard is applied to devices on batteries (sensors, scales, trackers) (it Bluetooth SMART or Bluetooth Low Energy).

The application serves for control of the equipment and at the same time allows to expand functionality of devices. How it works? Software with a certain list of opportunities and settings is built in devices. These settings can be more or less plastic, but anyway their set is limited including because of design features of the device.

I will explain on an example: imagine the electric kettle. Using the button on the handle or a small control panel on a support the teapot can be switched on and off. Advanced models can be supplied with several additional buttons for the choice of heating temperature or inclusion of heating of water. To enter some additional opportunities for management it would be required to increase physically the handle or a support of the device – it will break ergonomics of a teapot and will make it inconvenient for the user. The Ready for Sky application allows to expand considerably possibilities of the device, without changing internal software or the body. So managing SkyKettle teapot lamp through the application it is possible: select one of 9 modes of heating or to independently configure heating temperature with an accuracy of one degree, set water boiling duration, configure the schedule that the teapot boiled water to preset time – in the morning for a breakfast or in the evening when it is necessary to prepare mix for the baby. Also through the application there is an opportunity to configure teapot illumination: pick up color, suitable to an interior, configure transitions from one shade to another, rhythmical change of flowers in a clock period to music.

One more method increase abilities of the device – the built-in books of recipes. For each piece of equipment which prepares we embed the book of recipes in the application. Such books are for teapots, coffee makers, grills, ovens and, certainly, smart crock-pots. Having opened the recipe in the application, the user can start preparation in one click. With the normal crock-pot the user at first selects the program, then time, then clicks cooking start. Scrolling of the list of programs or values of time usually revolves – i.e. if you slipped the necessary program, it is necessary to return to a list head. Selecting preparation from the recipe for SkyCooker or other device for cooking, the user does 1 cliques in the application, and all – the necessary program, temperature and time are established automatically.

Alexander Bulavin: It is difficult to differentiate our consumers on some one sign. Besides, price range for models even within one commodity category is quite wide. Better all buyer of home appliances with Ready for Sky can be defined so – the person who is able to use the smartphone. Practically all get to this category today: youth, men and women, family people of middle age, pensioners. Because the smart house of Ready for Sky is not the package offer, each buyer has an opportunity to select the equipment strictly under the needs. For example, the person who often is in business trips will stop the choice on security sensors. And the family with children will pay attention to the air purifier for the nursery.

Alexander Bulavin: Today in the center of the user attention, first of all, there are smart devices for kitchen. Any smart equipment helps to save time at the solution of any household tasks, but with devices for kitchen this economy is especially evident. When in the market the first crock-pots, without smart modules only just appeared, hostesses quickly estimated an opportunity not to watch cooking. It gave the explosive growth of popularity of crock-pots. Similarly also the situation with smart crock-pots and other kitchen equipment developed – end users realized as far as these devices are more convenient in everyday life, and smart kitchens become some kind of mainstream for households in Russia.

On the second place in popularity there is climatic equipment. This time the main generator of demand for it – convenience from remote control. Simple example: it is much more pleasant to arrive to a heated-up country house, than turn on the heater on site and wait until rooms it becomes warm.

The following in popularity is sensors of control and security. The possibility of creation of scenarios of interaction with other smart equipment is available to these gadgets. For example, at operation of the sensor of opening on an entrance door the teapot in kitchen can join.

We work on that all smart devices on the Ready for Sky platform were harmoniously built in the system of the smart house, and the user could "individualize" each device as much as possible. So to pick up the diagram of turning on of devices, optimal for itself and to create the convenient scheme of interaction of devices among themselves.

Alexander Bulavin: The market moves in the direction of integration and globalization. What does it mean in practice? Emergence of technologies and players of big scale. If can make sensors (and even larger devices) rather small OEM-factory in China, then can collect it in one ecosystem only to the few large companies. Especially considering the highest heterogeneity of IoT devices – from the simplest sensor of opening to audiocolumns with the built-in voice assistants. And on the scale of multilingual support it purchases global world character and a perspective. In it our platform differs from many in the width of a range of the developed devices.

From my point of view the most demanded and quickly growing directions will are connected with

• conversational user interface or voice assistants,
• neuronets,
• the open IoT-platforms allowing to assemble devices to any profile producer.

We pay to these directions in the work the most close attention.

Alexander Bulavin: Saturation of the market of IoT in Russia and the world is rather high, however the most part of the market is occupied now by the companies occupied with production of b2b-solutions. We determine by the direction, key for ourselves development of solutions for home appliances which will be used in private households. At the seeming variety, there is not a lot of smart household appliances for today – the smart equipment in this segment is represented so far by about 20 brands. Our advantage in the market – the width of a lineup of the devices offered equipment manufacturers. In our assortment devices of different price categories, with the different list of opportunities and design are provided. At the same time possibilities of the specific device that it was user-friendliest are in details studied. Practically nobody while we see in it one of the main tasks is engaged in detailing of options. Simple turning on and switching off of the device from the panel as which the smartphone can act is not so demanded as additional opportunities for management which – I spoke about it above – are often implementable only through the application.

Alexander Bulavin: We conduct integration with services of voice actuation from leading companies - Google, Amazon, "Yandex". But not everything in them suits us therefore we also develop own assistant who will allow to expand possibilities of the user on control of the smart equipment. Its main difference is the autonomy - the voice assistant will not need connection to the Internet for speech recognition function work. In addition, it is more utilitarian - is focused under voice actuation of the equipment of simple commands, it seems "Boil water" or "Make porridge". Unlike solutions of leading companies, more freedom in interaction with a system will be provided to third-party developers.

To simplify and accelerate for persons interested to be integrated on the platform of brands development of the smart equipment from scratch, we decided to release own debug payment. It will be based on the microcontroller which is used in developments of R4S. At the same time, we are going to make a payment compatible to the popular systems, in particular Arduino.

At the moment we develop API and we project a payment. We plan that it will be compatible to Arduino shilda. In addition to already existing shilda expansion units of our development in which the electronic components optimal for mass production will be considered will be released. We also consider the possibility to write the code, using the Arduino development environment, but using our API. By our calculations it will lower a threshold of entry for beginners, allowing anyone to create the smart equipment and to manage it from our application.

There is an additional purpose with new API more to use standard Bluetooth services. Now communication between phone and the device is performed by means of UART service and our proprietary protocol. Transition to the Bluetooth standard will allow to accelerate considerably communication and information transfer between phone and devices directly, without additional software solutions.