AutoHTN, first Home Automation Solution for Android

HomeTheaterNetwork.com is working on an Android based solution for automating your home entertainment equipment. Auto Home Theatre Network (AutoHTN) is an Android application that allows users to control their home theatre network, giving them the ability to automate and control lighting, security sensors, cameras, electrical outlets, thermostats, streaming video from a HTPC, window blinds, and receivers.

HomeTheaterNetworks believes that Android Phones will finally make home automation affordable for the masses. Sure, home automation has been around for a while, but most systems are still located in multi-million dollar homes. There are cheaper home automation solutions, such as those based on the X10 protocol, but what we still lack is a device that makes it practical and useful. That’s where HomeTheaterNetwork comes in: they’re developing AutoHTN as an application to control home lighting, AC, motion detectors, web camera, A/V receivers, and more.

AutoHTN on Android phones has several purposes, for example:

• If you’re at work, you can use the motion detector alert to notify you when your kids get home from school. You can even switch to the house web cam to see them.
• You can easily turn on your front porch light if you’re coming home late and forgot to turn it on earlier.
• Save on energy costs by keeping the AC at a higher temperature when you’re at work, and lowering the AC temperature before you commute home.
• If you’re on vacation, you can turn on lights to make it look like you’re home. You could also use your house’s web cams to make sure the house is safe.
• To increase safety, use the ‘All On’ button to turn on all the lights in a house when you come home.
• Use the receiver control button to control what video/audio output goes to a HTPC capture card. Then switch to HTN video to watch a show.
• Stream the local baseball game, CNBC stock news, or any other show via HTN video. This is similar to what Slingbox can do.
• If an intruder broke into your house while you’re gone, the motion detector will send an alert and you can see the intruder through the web cams. You can now scare him away by flashing the lights or blasting some ear-throbbing music by turning the receiver on.