Motorola Homesight


Motorola Homesight is a brand name for a range of home security and automation products marketed in the U.S. and UK, which include separate items and a product package. The latter is marketed and sold as a kit and the product range offers flexibility in choice of accessories with which the customer can expand the kit into a more complex system.

Description

As per Motorola's marketing material, the system uses a broadband Internet connection in order for the customer to stay connected to their home and its other residents through the kit owner's computer or compatible mobile phone. Sensor-detected activities
are alerted and/or notified of to the customer and up to seven other customer-designated persons by the system.

Technical disadvantages

Although the XG1000 gateway does NOT require a host PC, the less expensive USB gateway system requires that its user's computer be turned on all the time, but such an always-on requirement is a disfavour in places with otherwise old electrical equipment and wiring or unstable power delivery. The latter may be mitigated by the use of a UPS for the computer and some combination of backup power sources, such as diesel generator, solar panels, a wind turbine or other off-the-grid energy sources. Installation and maintenance costs may vary.

OS compatibility

The Homesight Wireless Easy Start Kit software does not run on any variety of Macintosh or Linux/UNIX OS. Feedback received from both Motorola and the UK distributor is that there are no plans to provide a driver for Macintosh or Linux/UNIX OS's. The latest version of the Homesight software does run on Windows Vista and is available from www.myhome247.co.uk. The XG1000 base unit is completely stand-alone and does not require an always-on computer but is $200 vs $100. There is currently no supported functionality for Windows 7 or Windows 8.

Homesight Remote

Homesight Remote is a FOSS-licensed web interface to Homesight and is hosted at Information about its licensing is conflicting, as the home page for the project links to GNU Lesser [General Public License|LGPL], while the project page shows GPL as its license.
The Homesight Remote interface only runs on Windows XP.

Competing systems

  • — Similar packaging and marketing as Motorola Homesight, but controller and camera are different. The controller and camera can connect directly to a home network router without requiring a PC, though the list of remote automation devices seems smaller.
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