Essence Group is all about answering one main question:

How could smart-home technology work best for you?

Rafi Zauer is the Head of Marketing at Essence Group, an Israel-based connected-living technology company.  After CES® 2017, we discussed the ways Essence Group is making the Internet of Things accessible--and helpful--in everyday life.

Currently, they're marketing two smart-home systems.   Essence Group's "WeR@Home" can give you the ability to remotely control your home's lights, unlock and lock doors and monitor the temperature.  It also shows what's happening at your home, in real time, when you're away.

Meanwhile, the "Care@Home" system is designed to allow senior citizens to continue living independently, and safely, in their homes.  Using sensors, "Care@Home" monitors a senior's well-being, issues preventive alerts following a change in health, and calls for help in emergency situations.

Rafi explained how Essence Group's connected-home technology works, talked about their "Voice Panic Detector", which won the IoT Breakthrough Award during CES® 2017, and offered a preview of the areas Essence Group may be pioneering in the future.
On this edition of Over Coffee®, you'll hear:

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How Rafi's background led him to work with the Internet of Things and connected homes;

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How Essence Group is expanding their Internet of Things system to enable customers to manage their homes remotely;

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Some of the voice-enabled capabilities the WeR@Home system allows users;

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How WeR@Home enables you to give short-term access to a visitor while you're absent, while still keeping your home secure;

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How Rafi has seen customers' attitudes change towards the Internet of Things, during his time at Essence;

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The journey Essence has taken to create both the WeR@Home and Care@Home systems;

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How WeR@Home helps to protect senior citizens as they continue to live independently in their homes;

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How Essence's award-winning "Voice Panic Detector" feature works, in the Care@Home technology.

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What Essence is doing to keep these technologies secure against hackers;

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Some of the main challenges from the early days of Care@Home and WeR@Home;

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How the Care@Home eldercare system reduces "false emergencies" to protect a senior's privacy;

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How Care@Home gathers preregistered "rules" to avoid reporting false emergencies.

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Rafi's vision for future connected-home technology.

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The experience that showed Rafi and the Essence team the value of Care@Home in a user's life.