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"If you think of all your home's lights, climate controls and automation gadgets as a sort of Russian Nesting Doll, you start to understand Apple HomeKit and its database-driven approach to home automation.\nSee also: The 18 Most Important Features in iOS 8\nDuring a HomeKit introduction session at Apple\u2019s World Wide Developer\u2019s Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco on Tuesday, an Apple engineer described how virtually every home, room, device, function and setting would have a name in the HomeKit system and how Siri, Apple\u2019s intelligent voice assistant, could recognize and let you control it all thanks to a common database.\nApple\u2019s overarching goal is to bring \u201Csome rationality to home automation,\u201D said the Apple engineer. To do so, the HomeKit iOS 8 app and API both guide the user through the distinct naming of every room and device, but can also, if the accessories support Apple's Home Automation Protocol and iOS devices, intuit home automation device capabilities. \nAccording to Apple, the company put a lot of effort into defining a common home automation language, but is well aware that not all devices will speak it. In that case, it\u2019ll be up to the manufacturer to make their smart home products work with the HomeKit Platform.\nTo work with HomeKit, a user might start by defining her home. If she has multiple homes, each will need its own name. The rooms in each house will have names, as well. You can name \u201CLiving Room\u201D in both your house and summer cottage, but cannot have two \u201CLiving Rooms\u201D in one of those houses. \nInside the house and each room, there could be a variety of HomeKit-controllable devices, which could be discovered and configured through an accessory browser on the iPhone. They, too, get their own names and, just like the house names, those names are recognized by Siri. The same is true of the services provided by each accessory. In the case of a smart light, \u201CDim\u201D might be a named service. Characteristics are in the HomeKit framework, as well, though, since they\u2019re really information about the state of the device (is it on or off, running at high or low), they\u2019re seen but not controlled by the end user.\nWith so many named rooms, objects, services and characteristics inside the home, it might get a little overwhelming. However, HomeKit will also let the user group services. If, for example, all of the lights in your home have a Dim function, you could dim them all at once with a named command (spoken through Siri). The grouping paradigm also extends out into what Apple is calling Action Sets or Scenes. Say \u201Cgoodnight\u201D to HomeKit and , if that\u2019s the name you\u2019ve given your \u201CI\u2019m going to bed\u201D scene, all the actions connected to it \u2014 locking the doors, turning off lights, locking the garage door and turning down the heat \u2014 will all be executed at once. There is no defined order here.\nSadly, Apple\u2019s introduction to HomeKit didn\u2019t feature any home automation hardware. Instead the engineer showed developers how they could test their apps with the HomeKit accessory simulator. \n\nApple SVP Craig Federighi  explains HomeKit. Behind him is a screen shot of all the parners.HomeKit will also allow users to control devices when they\u2019re not at home. To protect users\u2019 privacy and security, Apple provides end-to-end encryption between accessories. To further ensure security, HomeKit APIs can only be used when developer apps are in the foreground. \u201CThis enables us to have security so that accessories can\u2019t be misused and user privacy can be maintained. It\u2019s not good enough to be sort of private,\u201D said the Apple engineer. \nTaking this nesting data approach to home automation may, as Apple hopes, bring more people to the smart home table, but there still remain some big questions. While Apple has lined up partners, like Cree Lighting, Philips and Kwikset lined up, other home innovators like Nest, which is owned by Google, may steer clear. I'd ask Siri if HomeKit flourish in the face of competing platforms and standards, but she doesn't know what HomeKit is, yet.\n\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2014/06/06/apple-home-automation/>