Copenhagen Blinds
Intelligent Blinds for Smart Living
The Danish design and development house Art Andersen and Inwido wanted to develop intelligent Venetian blinds with a modern design and an IoT solution for the smart home. Art Andersen and Inwido chose Develco as technology development partner.
Develco has been responsible for the embedded software and the hardware in the blinds. Develco has developed and implemented the electronics for motorcontrol, battery control and wireless Z-wave communication. All the electronics are installed discretely in a small control unit containing all the necessary mechanics. The control unit fits into the top cylinder of the blinds without impacting the design.
The Copenhagen Blinds can be programmed and controlled via the WeBeHome Smart App for a comfortable indoor environment and a precise regulation of the position of the blinds in order to fit the user’s needs.
PRODUCT FACTS
• Wireless communication at 868.4 MHz
• Z-wave plus™ certified
• Other Z-wave products regardless of brand can be included in the system
• The blinds are Frequently Listening Routing Slaves FLiRS
• Processor, SMPS, motor driver, battery charger and antenna in one ø40mm PCB
• One PCB and one software cover all sizes of blinds
• Powered with one rechargeable battery consisting of 4 Li-Ion cells
• Time between charges +1 year with “normal use”
• Automatic calibration of motor control by installation
• Detection and safety stop at unexpected load
• Vertical position within a few mm – also for groups of blinds
• Slat tilt within 2º degrees
CUSTOMER STATEMENT
“Our learning has been that it can be difficult with development projects comprising both digital and physical elements”, says Development Manager Henrik Søgaard Pedersen at Inwido.
“You must have a more ad-hoc access – take a little step and see what to do next. From the physical products we are used to a stage-gate-process where we elaborate a time schedule, develop and finalize the development project. However, in the software world you are working on a sprint planning with short sprints and frequent evaluations of the progress. This we have learnt. We must not be so focused on plans, but be more flexible”, says Henrik Søgaard Pedersen.
