Will the Xbox One Automate Your House?

In a recent interview, Marc Whitten, Microsoft’s chief production officer of interactive entertainment, talked about the future of the Xbox One.  He shared his vision for a platform he calls Home 2.o, a service that will become the hub for all your interconnected devices.

While Whitten notes this is still 3 – 5 years down the line, he imagines that Home 2.0 will allow the One to be more than an entertainment device for your living room. The Xbox One will become your home’s gateway to the Internet of Things.  This will be the missing link that will interconnect your lights, appliances, and much more.

“You need those [devices] in a central hub as an experience to bring all these things together,” Whitten explained.

Microsoft has been serious about Home Automation for quite some time and acquired a company specializing in home automation, id8 Group R2 Studios, earlier this year.  Home 2.0 could use id8’s existing platform in combination with the Xbox One’s to allow third party developers to write applications for digital devices in our lives.

While Home 2.0 will not be available in the Xbox One at launch, it gives the Xbox One the potential to prove that it is not just another video game console or entertainment device, in a world that is increasingly mobile. With Home 2.0, the Xbox One is something that could be significant in our lives and connect all of our devices and home to it.

Microsoft has a distinct advantage Apple & Google in one key spot: The living room, and every bit of our domestic lives, connected to it.