In a recent announcement via a
YouTube video, Microsoft has revealed that it has partnered with Johnson Controls. Together they are building a smart thermostat that will be powered with Cortana, Microsoft’s renowned AI voice assistant. Johnson Controls built the first electric room thermostat, and now with the GLAS thermostat, it has initiated leveraging Cortana into house-hold appliances.
As shown in the video, GLAS includes a touchscreen display that can help check energy usage, set temperature, see calendar information and check the air quality. If we talk about OS, GLAS will be running on Windows 10 IoT Core OS with built-in Cortana service. It has sensors to detect whether there is someone in the room or not, in order to save energy intelligently.
Source: Microsoft
Since the GLAS device will be using Azure cloud services, Microsoft indicates that it is a perfect device for businesses, as suggested in the video. The company has not yet announced a launch date or prices for the device. This is worth noticing that GLAS is not the first smart thermostat; there is one Alexa powered device, Eobee4, already in the market.
As the software giant indicated that it is working on smart home appliances, like refrigerators, toasters etc. with Cortana assistance, the GLAS thermostat can be considered the first milestone on that highway.