At last week’s CES in Las Vegas, Copilot.cx introduced Copilot Star, a smart-home platform that helps manufacturers launch connected products on any IoT platform with one unified app and framework.

Star aims to democratise the smart-home industry and deliver what New York-based Copilot believes has been missing in the consumer IoT world: one app, many platforms, meaning manufacturers can build smart-home products on multiple IoT tech-stacks and still deliver a single, unified app experience to their customers.

Instead of requiring a separate app for each smart-home device, Star lets multiple IoT services live inside a single consumer-facing app, fully owned by the brand. This eliminates one of the biggest pain points in smart-home adoption: every device requiring its own app and setup process. With Star, lighting, sensors, security devices, thermostats and appliances can all live in one app environment regardless of which IoT platform powers them.

“Smart-home technology has accelerated, but fragmentation continues to limit growth,” said Zvi Frank, Copilot.cx CEO. “Copilot Star is designed to simplify complexity, making it easier for manufacturers to develop products, easier for retailers to merchandise smart-home categories and easier for consumers to control connected devices in their homes. Our mission is simple: democratise the smart home.”

According to Frank, Star provides faster time to market for smart-home products and offers a more cost-effective strategy for brands and retailers by enabling them to source seamlessly from various suppliers simultaneously.

“Manufacturers gain flexibility and consumers get convenience,” Frank said. “That is a winning combination in one of retail’s highest-growth technology categories.”

Copilot.cx is also building towards an AI-first smart-home experience that will introduce ambient intelligence, self-learning capabilities and automated decision-making later this year. This roadmap includes revenue models for manufacturers, such as subscription services, post-purchase upgrades and more personalised device behaviour.

Copilot (www.copilot.cx) delivers on the promise of IoT by offering manufacturers the opportunity to engage end users automatically with meaningful, data-driven and behaviour-based communications, leading to improved onboarding, reduced product returns, better product rating and more revenue channels.