大多數智能家居設備只有在實現了互聯互通時才最為有用（比如智能燈泡或聯網門鎖等）。因此，像蘋果和谷歌這樣的網聯網巨頭都開發了一套各自的“語言”，來使這些設備保持同步。

不過有人認為，目前這種程度的互聯性并沒有完全解決智能家居領域最大的問題。為了使智能家居發揮最大的效益，消費者必須選擇一個特定的平臺——比如蘋果的HomeKit或谷歌的Works With Nest平臺。而這就限制了他們在購買智能家居產品時的選擇。

Android之父安迪·魯賓最新創立的科技公司Essential旨在改變這種情況。該公司推出的第一批產品中包含了一個叫做Home的智能家居助手，該產品可以使用語音控制。安迪·魯賓希望Home可以與任何智能家居設備兼容，不管是蘋果、谷歌還是三星的平臺。

魯賓介紹道，Home的原理是利用應用編程界面（即API）編制一種模擬器，從而使其能夠支持不同平臺的智能家居設備。API是使不同的應用與服務能夠互相集成的一組協議。比如說你可以用你的Facebook賬號登陸另外一個網站，這就是通過API實現的。

今年6月7日，安迪·魯賓在連線商業大會（Wired Business Conference）上演講時，將各種智能家居平臺比作一個個“孤島”，并表示他的產品能在這些“孤島”之間架起“橋梁”。魯賓對記者們表示：“只要我能模擬（這些孤島），我就能讓它們實現互聯，并且可以控制10萬臺設備。”

自從安迪·魯賓今年5月宣布成立Essential公司后，就有觀察人士質疑這樣一款能提供跨平臺連通性的產品是否具有可行性。因為眾所周知，蘋果的軟硬件生態系統是封閉的。直到去年，蘋果公司才允許第三方應用與Siri和iMessage進行集成，而亞馬遜和Facebook早就采取了類似的舉措。

隨著智能家居技術的興起，各大科技巨頭也越來越樂見他們的設備和軟件與其他設備進行互聯。比如谷歌最近推出了iPhone端的谷歌助手服務，微軟的“小娜”（Cortana）也于2015年登陸了iPhone和Android平臺。亞馬遜公司也表現出了深度整合的意愿，該公司特別表示，它愿意將該公司的Alexa服務與蘋果的Siri進行兼容。亞馬遜的設備高級副總裁大衛·林普在大會上對記者表示：“到時候，你就可以告訴Alexa：‘問Siri某個問題’。如果蘋果或者谷歌想給我們打電話談合作，我們隨時歡迎。”

即使安迪·魯賓的這款產品真的成功搭起了上面所說的“橋梁”，智能家居領域也仍有很多需要改進的方面。魯賓表示，他正在思考如何讓那些不懂技術的人也能輕松地安裝和設置產品。目前，像Control4等公司已經提供了設備遠程安裝及管理服務，不過魯賓覺得，用戶應該能夠自己管理好自己的設備。

魯賓表示：“以前，給你設置用戶界面的人與拿著鉆頭在你家墻上鉆孔的人是同一個人……這種做法已經過時了，我想改變這種情況，讓用戶自己也能輕松安裝和配置智能家居產品。而且我認為憑借我們現已開發的技術，這并不難實現。”（財富中文網）

本文原載于Time.com。

譯者：樸成奎

Most smart home devices, like smart light bulbs or connected door locks, are most useful when they're capable of communicating with one another. That's why companies like Apple and Google have developed their own respective "languages" for enabling these devices to stay in sync.

But some argue that this interconnectivity hasn't completely solved the smart home's biggest issues. In order to get those benefits, consumers must choose one specific platform, like Apple's HomeKit or Google's Works With Nest, which could limit the choices they have when shopping for smart home products.

Andy Rubin, the creator of Android and CEO of newly launched tech company Essential, is trying to change that. One of his company's first products is a voice-enabled smart home assistant called, appropriately enough, Home. He hopes to make the gadget compatible with any smart home device, regardless of whether it runs on an Apple, Google, or Samsung-operated platform.

The trick, says Rubin, is to use application programming interfaces, or APIs, to create a sort of emulator that allow his product to support gadgets on different platforms. An API is a set of protocols that makes it possible for apps and services to integrate with one another. They make it possible to use your Facebook credentials to sign up for a new website, for instance.

Speaking on stage at the Wired Business Conference on June 7, Rubin compared the various smart home platforms to individual islands, saying his product would provide a bridge between them. "If I can emulate [these islands], I can turn it on and control 100,000 devices," Rubin told reporters.

Following Rubin's May announcement of Essential, observers have questioned whether it will be possible to create a device that can offer cross functionality between competing platforms. Such doubts Apple doubly so to Apple, which is known for keeping its software and hardware ecosystems closed. The iPhone maker only allowed third-party developers to integrate their apps with Siri and iMessage last year, long after rivals like Amazon and Facebook made similar moves.

But alongside the rise of smart home technology, tech giants have shown an increasing willingness to allow their devices and software to play nice with others. Google recently debuted its Google Assistant on the iPhone, while Microsoft's Cortana has been on iPhone and Android since 2015. Amazon in particular says it's willing to embrace even deeper collaboration, saying it's open to the idea of making Alexa compatible with Siri. "You should be able to tell Alexa, 'Ask Siri X,'" David Limp, Amazon's senior vice president of devices, told reporters at the conference. "If Apple or Google want to call, my number is out there."

Even if Rubin's gadget succeeds at building those aforementioned bridges, there are plenty of other ways smart home tech could stand to improve. Rubin says he's already thinking about how the installation and setup process can become more accessible to those who aren't tech-savvy. Companies like Control4 offer remote device installation and management services, but Rubin feels customers should be able to handle their gear on their own.

"That's an outdated approach," said Rubin. "The [people] that are doing the user interface are the same ones drilling holes in your wall . . . So I need to change who the installer is, and I think we've developed enough technology to make it very easy."

This article was originally published at Time.com