The smart Cortana-powered thermostat is a product that includes Microsoft’s Cortana virtual assistant and Azure cloud services. The new GLAS thermostat built by Johnson Controls, makers of the first electric room thermostat.
New product GLAS will run on Microsoft’s Windows 10 IoT Core OS. Equipped with the added services of Cortana, built into the thermostat. GLAS includes a touchscreen to allow manual controls and check on information, including temperature, air quality readings and calendar schedule.
Further, Cortana gives the device another twists by enabling voice commands. The sensors allow GLAS Cortana-powered thermostat to detect when people are in a room or not, allowing it to operate heating and air control systems more efficiently.
GLAS will work with conventional, single-stage split or packaged units, up to 2H/2C, and heat pump units up to 2H/2C/2 Aux Heat. It’ll be compatible with gas, oil, and electric heating, along with ground, air, and water-source heat pumps, and has dual-fuel support for heat pumps. An auxiliary output can control humidifiers, dehumidifiers, ventilators, energy recovery ventilators, or heat recovery ventilators.
Preorders will be available from March 2018, with Johnson Controls saying GLAS should ship sometime in Q1 2018. It’s priced at $319.
Microsoft to bring Cortana powered thermostat technology for fridges, toasters, and thermostats.
Moreover, Redmond-based company said it will include support for Azure cloud services. Microsoft revealed its plans to bring its digital assistant to fridges, toasters, and thermostats. There’s no word of pricing or availability for GLAS.
In addition, Microsoft open Cortana to third-parties on the software and hardware side of things. This effort from Johnson Control is first to emerge. Alongside a smart speaker from Harman Kardon that was teased last year.
GLAS isn’t the first thermostat to make use of a smart assistant and voice recognition tech, However, Ecobee is building Alexa into its thermostats and smart light switches. The Amazon to places like the TV experience after Dish put it into its set-top boxes.
We’ve said before that third-party partnerships are key to Amazon building Alexa into a dominant force in the home, and this collaboration with Johnson Controls which looks impressive in the promotional materials shows that the same applies to Microsoft and Cortana.
