Google reportedly re-introducing Android-based home platform codenamed Brillo at I/O 2015
You can walk into any hardware store and find smartphone-controlled light bulbs, but yet we haven’t seen much from Google’s home automation project — Android@Home — since it first debuted at Google I/O 2012. It’s been a good couple of years since then and we’ve seen Google take a few strides in that direction with their recent acquisitions of Nest and Dropcam.
Soon, just about every electronic device will find itself connected to the internet, something Silicon Valley is calling the Internet of Things. Because Android (at least in its current state), isn’t really optimized for low-power gadgets and doodads, Google is doing something about that with a new software codenamed “Brillo.”
Although we’re not entirely sure if it will be Android-based, it’s being worked on by Google’s Android unit so it only makes sense. The difference is that Brillo will reportedly have no problem running on as little as 64MB or 32MB of RAM, much way less than the 512MB minimum Android can run on right now. The aim is to make every electronic device in the entire home “smart” — microwaves, refrigerators, washer/dryers/ — and the best way to do that is by connecting them to the web.
While smart slow cookers and other appliances haven’t really taken off in recent years, home automation is becoming cheaper and more practical than ever. Hopefully we’ll learn more at Google I/O in a few short weeks.