Why the time has come for Android @Home to finally make a splash

With Google’s annual I/O developer conference being just a week away, lots of people are busy trying to figure out what the company is going to announce this year. I’m gonna throw my hat in the ring with a bold guess: a second take on Android @Home, Google’s internet of things meets home entertainment initiative that never materialized despite being announced not once, but twice.

I have no inside knowledge on this, I have heard no juicy rumors — so I could be completely wrong. But I do think the timing is right for Android @Home.

False starts: connected lightbulbs and the Nexus Q

Remember the Nexus Q?

First, a bit of history. Google initially introduced Android @Home at its Google I/O conference in 2011. Back then, the company painted the picture of all kinds of household appliances being connected to a home gateway, controlled by Android devices. One of the first devices coming to market was supposed to be an Android-connected LED light bulb. The bulb was supposed to be manufactured by Lighting Science and come to market by the end of 2011.

That never happened, and there hasn’t been any official word about the status of the project since. Instead, Google introduced the ill-fated Nexus Q at its 2012 Google I/O conference. The music streamer was meant to compete with Sonos and deliver cloud-hosted whole-home audio – but overwhelmingly negative reception led Google to scrap the project, and give away thousands of units for free.

Third time’s a charm?

However, Android @Home is far from dead. Android enthusiasts recently found traces of Android @Home in the Android 4.2.2 update. And some casual searches on LinkedIn reveal that the company isn’t just maintaining the team, but actively hiring and adding people to the fold. There are industrial designers and software engineers “working on Android@Home cloud services,” managers who’ve been working on “Nexus Q and other fun things to come” and numerous other people listing Android@ Home as their current area of work. A bunch of them have actually been hired in 2013.

What exactly are they working on? It’s hard to tell from the resumes alone, and one guy even admits:

“My job is so secret, sometimes even I do not know what I do.”

However, it’s worth pointing out that quite a few people list Jawbone as a previous employer, hinting at the possibility of additional audio devices. I’ve also heard that Lighting Science is still working on the LED project, so we might actually see Android-connected lightbulbs make a comeback.

Android @home’s killer feature: speech recognition

Android @Home’s bigger vision has always been to connect everything in your home, not just a single lightbulb or a speaker system in your living room. Back in 2011, Android @Home hardware director Joe Britt told me:

“In thinking about accessories as devices that surround the phone, we started thinking about how far away from the phone you could migrate. Is a light bulb a potential accessory? Is a dishwasher a potential accessory?”

Google’s voice recognition already controls Google TV devices. Will it come to your lightbulbs next?

One of the key pieces to tie all of those things together could be Google’s voice recognition. The company’s cloud-based voice recognition features have advanced a lot in the last few years, to the point where voice has become one of the main input methods for Google TV.

The same capabilities could also be used to control your lighting, play your music or even adjust your thermostat. Check out this cool new demo video below, put together by home automation enthusiast Doug Gregory to get a sense of what’s possible when voice and home automation come together:

Gregory didn’t use Android @Home for this demo, but instead relied on a number of different tools. But Google has definitely been looking to utilize voice for Android @Home, as one software engineer professes on LinkedIn:

“Deliver speech recognition and natural language processing technologies (context aware, embedded and online) to the mobile ecosystem. Build client and server side infrastructure for integration across multiple Google products in all languages. Currently working in Google Now, Google Glass, Android@Home and others.”

Android @home’s other killer feature: Google Now and the knowledge graph

Here’s another feature that could set the 2013 version of Android @Home apart from its 2011 roots: Google’s new focus on the knowledge graph, and its pretty face that is Google Now. The Google Now app already pushes all kinds of relevant information to your mobile, including the time it will take you to get home and the weather in the city you’re going to visit tomorrow.

Google Now already keeps track of your packages and your commute – so why not your home appliances?

Now imagine Google would add data it gets from your Android @Home devices to the mix. Swipe up on your Android phone, and you’ll be able to check the settings of your thermostat, get more information about the band that’s been playing on your home stereo system (including tour dates) or check how much money you’re gonna spend on electricity this month. It’s a pretty compelling vision, and one that gets even more interesting once you feed data from your Android @Home devices back to the knowledge graph.

Granted, a pretty UI powered by Google Now cards and voice recognition isn’t all Android @Home needs to succeed – but both would definitely be big steps to make consumers feel more at home in their connected house.