Ink revelation: The embarrassment of air monitoring

Because it is the Internet enterprise to do hardware, ink weather to do smart hardware news from the beginning has attracted much attention. The answer is announced on Mother's Day, ink "air fruit", set temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, PM2.5 and other data detection and reminders in one, priced 999 yuan. There is also an outdoor version through the ZigBee connection with the air fruit. In addition, the air fruit also provides APIs for intelligent air-conditioning, purifiers and humidifier equipment.

Price and endurance became a mishap

If you are looking for equipment similar to the air fruit, Birdi is not American.

Birdi monitors air health hazard elements, pollution and emergencies, including smog, dangerous materials (carbon monoxide), allergens (pollen) and air quality (particulate, temperature, humidity, air freshness). In addition to preventing emergencies, Birdi can also rate air quality and provide recommendations for improvement. At the same time it will open the API to the air purifier and other equipment. Birdi has three main qualities: simplicity, beauty and intelligence. Mobile app can view the report, accept the warning, in the dangerous situation Birdi app can also directly call the fire alarm phone. Priced at 119 dollars, about 740 yuan, its app will support Chinese.

Ink air fruit is almost a subset of Birdi. But it's priced as high as 999 yuan, than Birdi and nestprotect smoke detector price is higher than a section, or even more than some of the air purification equipment and expensive, 360 and TCL combined with the air Guards can monitor and purify, the price is more than 1000. The price of the air fruit of the audience is much less, many users of the geek said prices below 500 yuan to consider trying.

Ink air fruit lasts for a few days, outdoor version longer, two weeks. This is still a challenge for users. Monitoring equipment such as Nest Protect can be up to several years.

Of course, Birdi's simplicity, beauty and intelligence are also the advantages of air fruit. It supports voice, gesture operation, avantgarde Atmospheric industrial design is praised by everyone. Ink weather app already has 270 million users and software capability is a cinch.

Make the addition, the ink brave trial and error

The air fruit is priced so high because the cost itself is high.

Automotive Intelligent Monitoring equipment entrepreneur, celery Technology founder MJ Huangmingjie told Ray Technology, the main cost of air monitoring equipment is sensor and industrial design. More than one kind of monitoring gas needs to increase a class of sensors, ink balloons to support so many air monitoring sensors expensive. An air monitoring hardware entrepreneur, not far from being named, told Ray technology that carbon dioxide monitoring is not so strong, sensors are expensive, and ink support can significantly increase costs.

The more sensors, the more difficult it is to integrate into a device with a limited size. Ink air fruit With so many sensors integrated into such a small device, but also to achieve such a beautiful appearance, industrial design is strong but the cost is high.

Lei technology author "Gao his six uncle" is the author of analysis, ink air fruit prices so high is a large part of the reason is that ink is app developers, no bat such a rallying point, and hardware modules, ODM, OEM manufacturers negotiate without pricing the right to speak. Only after the scale, can control the industrial chain from the ability to depress prices. Ray Technology added that the relatively small air monitoring equipment, unlike mobile phones and television has so sophisticated industrial chain, in the modular, large-scale after the cost can be done very low.

Tech and his team made additions this time. The pursuit of many functions and the whole, the appearance of the cool and beautiful, in the software intelligent use of voice, gestures and other complex technology. Public packet air data, based on the API to build the ecological chain, these future-oriented models are also planned. Obviously, the air is the ink team a brave trial and error, the purpose of this version is not to shop, but for high-end market and super fever users, after the version will be paved.

Air Monitor: next to wear?

Intelligent hardware around the air can be grouped into three main categories:

Monitor, the air in the detection of some gases and provide real-time data and recommendations, but also command air purification, humidifier, air-conditioning and other actions, ink air fruit belongs to this column.

Monitors have different usage scenarios and purposes. Indoor, outdoor, car, portable, professional. In addition to PM2.5, temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, such as conventional monitoring, formaldehyde, CO, allergens, radiation, electromagnetic radiation is also supported by some equipment.

The smart monitor collects air targets by loading sensors, uses the app for analytics and information services, and reacts by using APIs to control other devices.

Alarms, such as Nest Protect, can be alerted by sound, light, remote app reminders, and call fire-fighting phones in the event of air bursts, and their targets are some dangerous gases, carbon monoxide, smog, high temperature, gas, etc.

A processor that can make some action to affect the air of the device. Including purifier, humidifier, dehumidifier, thermostatic system, intelligent air-conditioning, intelligent fan, smart windows, activated Carbon purifier. 360 with Tcl T3 Air Guard, beauty intelligent air-conditioning in this column.

There are a lot of smart hardware across several areas. Birdi is the alarm is also the detector, T3 Air guards can do purification can also be done monitoring, nest is a set of perception, learning, monitoring and temperature control in one.

Modern people pay more and more attention to health. The air quality is so bad that people pay special attention to the air environment. PM2.5 monitoring app's popularity can be proved. Therefore, the air monitoring of intelligent hardware is inevitable, and then there will be more and more air monitoring related to intelligent hardware on the public Web site to meet with us.

Independent air monitoring or pseudo demand

The biggest challenge for intelligent air monitoring equipment is whether it captures people's "need behind demand" and allows users to pay. The need to keep the air quality hidden is to make it better.

Based on this logic, an intelligent gas alarm, not intended to be a transparent name, said that he was not optimistic about independent air monitoring equipment. "Users know that there is a problem with the air. "People's pain point is not not do not know how bad the air is, but know that it is difficult to change, whether it is PM2.5 or new repair room formaldehyde or buy a car."

The air alarm and the processor were just needed. Alarm is to inform the user in case of danger, the user can take a series of measures to eliminate the danger immediately. And the processor can change the air directly, make people's life more comfortable and safer.

There is also a point to independent monitoring equipment is very lethal: alarm in the same time, can be incidentally to the air monitoring done, such as Birdi; the processor can change the air at the same time, but also by the way the air monitoring done, such as TCL and 360 air guards.

Air monitors operate through an open API "conductor" with smart curtains to open windows, directing intelligent air conditioners and cleaners. But as the Birdi team points out, it is not easy to achieve this. Before the product reaches a certain stock, the brand of a variety of air-conditioning, purifier is not compatible with you.

As a result, air monitors are likely to become the next wearable bracelet, with a high degree of concern, but ultimately fail to address the needs behind the user and are unsustainable. Wearable bracelet tells us the motion data, but does not let us slim and robust, smart watch once the introduction of similar features, users will likely choose the latter.

Big Data? In the product does not reach tens, big data is empty talk. There are not a few types of intelligent hardware that are more than millions of levels. Even if there is a huge number of devices, can be mined to deal with these data is Baidu, Ali, and so few players. The United States intelligent Air conditioning data has been handed to Aliyun Smart home platform, Baidu Dulife platform in the collection of a variety of health intelligent hardware of the massive data, intelligent air-conditioning equipment is best to cooperate with them.

Crowdsourcing weather? A meteorologist friend told me that if there was basic meteorology, the data collected by smart hardware would not be considered to be able to help weather forecasts. Weather forecast is a highly professional discipline, the whole country has already laid a large number of meteorological stations and massive professional monitoring equipment, weather forecast itself is a typical large data application.

There is also the question of accuracy. An air monitor practitioner also told Thunder Technology, to accurately monitor the air index, need to learn curve, need to correct algorithm, need high-precision sensor, higher precision cost higher. This is the challenge of ink-air fruit and other smart air monitoring hardware.

Air is a matter of concern to people, the intelligent hardware business around it must find people's pain point and just need to find the needs behind the user's needs. Consumer smart hardware, which is only for air monitoring, is difficult to exist independently, and future ink "air fruit" is likely to expand some of the more just needed features, such as alarms or processors. Ink Air fruit is an advance force for Internet players to enter the hardware, it has won a preliminary victory in industrial design, intelligent interaction, this is only its first version, we are more looking forward to the next air fruit.