The Research@Intel Day features fascinating concepts that may never evolve into full-blown products. But this year’s event, held at the Computer History Museum on Wednesday, had one great idea for the home that is already in limited production.
In a demonstration of Simple Energy Sensing, the “rock star” researchers of the world’s biggest chipmaker showed off a plug-like device that can be inserted into any socket in the home to provide comprehensive information on how every electrical device on the power grid is operating.
This hits a sweet spot between those Kill A Watt type plugs that can tell you the energy efficiency of a single appliance and electrical refits for home control that can cost thousands of dollars.
Rather like Gracenote or Shazam can identify any song, Intel’s technology can identify any device from a unique signature derived from spectral analysis of its frequency and voltage variations.
“The researchers tell me they believe they can get to the point where it’s so good they can give you the model number of the appliance that is turned on or off,” said Justin Rattner, Intel chief technology officer.
Over time, they can notice changes to the signature that could signal the appliance is about to fail or is becoming less efficient and merits replacement.
The possibilities are endless for mining and presenting the data to consumers from every appliance being monitored 24/7 in the home. To Intel’s credit, it has avoided information overload and complex graphs on its interface for a tablet/control panel it has developed to complement the plug adapter.
The touchscreen device presents clear and concise information on what appliances are drawing power and how much in dollar terms they are consuming. You can see breakdowns of the household’s electricity bill by device and receive options on how to make appliances such as washing machines and dryers more efficient. A clock warns when peak rates are being applied.
Combined with home automation software, Intel’s technology can switch on and off appliances and lights, reduce air conditioning and set a security system when the house is empty.
Mary Murphy-Hoye, senior principal engineer in Intel’s embedded communications group, showed me a live feed from her home in Arizona, where she could tell her son was playing on his Xbox and the air conditioning was at a maximum, with the temperature 110 degrees Fahrenheit outside.
The software would also be capable of comparing energy usage over different periods and even with performance in neighbours’ homes – encouraging social networking about energy savings.
“We are right now building the device – both the [plug] and the control panel – we plan to have 1,000 units by the end of the year for a variety of trials,” she said.
“If the trials work, we’ll move into production in a variety of ways.”
Intel imagines this being easy enough for consumers to buy it in a retail store or direct from their utility provider and install it themselves.
The technology has even attracted interest from consumer products companies seeking answers to how well their detergents worked.
Maybe Intel Washes Whiter will succeed its Sponsors of Tomorrow ad campaign?
