Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
An Apple patent published today reveals an idea for a system that could automatically detect smart home devices and potentially configure them for the room they’re in (via Patently Apple).
As Apple points out in the patent, there are a lot of good smart home devices and technologies available now. But it can be very challenging to actually configure those devices to make a fully integrated smart home, due to factors like different types of wireless protocols, connector types, incompatible devices between vendors, and more. Apple has patented a system that could make connecting all of your smart things easier by automatically detecting a new smart device, what room it’s in, and authenticating it for you to use.