Deako Partners with Josh.ai for Smart Lighting

- Deako's modular, plug-and-play light switches are primarily targeted at new home builders and large-scale remodeling projects, allowing for easy, tool-free swapping of switches after the initial backplate installation. The company has established partnerships with major homebuilders like D.R. Horton, Toll Brothers, and Home Creations, with the latter planning to install 5 to 15 smart switches in each of the approximately 600 homes it builds annually. - Josh.ai is a voice control platform designed specifically for high-end, professionally installed smart homes, differentiating itself with advanced natural language processing that understands complex, multi-part commands and context-based requests. Unlike mass-market assistants, it processes commands locally for faster response and enhanced privacy, never selling user data to third parties for marketing. - The integration allows Deako's switches and dimmers to be automatically discovered on the local network by a Josh.ai processor, which then generates a home floorplan for customization. This creates an "AI-ready" home using standard wiring, where advanced automation can be added at any time without costly rework. - For designers focused on human-centric lighting, this partnership enables sophisticated control over tunable white fixtures, which can support circadian rhythms by mimicking the natural progression of sunlight. This aligns with standards like the WELL Building Standard, which uses Equivalent Melanopic Lux (EML) to measure light's biological impact and requires specific light levels to improve occupant well-being. - From a systems perspective, the collaboration bridges Deako's Bluetooth Mesh network with Josh.ai's broader smart home ecosystem, which can integrate with protocols like DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface). DALI is an international standard (IEC 62386) for robust, scalable lighting control, allowing for two-way communication and easy integration with building management systems like KNX. - The partnership reflects a larger industry trend toward a circular economy in lighting, emphasizing product longevity, modularity, and serviceability. Deako's swappable modules align with circular design principles by allowing for easy upgrades and repairs, reducing the need to replace entire fixtures and minimizing electronic waste. - Josh.ai's focus on privacy and local processing directly addresses growing concerns over data security in IoT and smart building ecosystems. For architectural and high-end residential clients, the assurance that voice and usage data are not shared for marketing purposes is a critical differentiator from mainstream voice assistants. - The collaboration provides a more accessible entry point for premium AI-driven lighting control, a market segment covered by publications like *Dezeen* and *ArchDaily*. It moves beyond simple voice commands to offer proactive automation, where the system learns user habits and can trigger complex lighting scenes based on contextual cues.