Company: Zyxel Communications Inc.

Category: Computer Peripherals & Accessories

A smart home system for Wi-Fi6 — the next generation of Wi-Fi whose exponential increase in speed opens up potential for better multi-device connectivity — Zyxel’s Halo Light redefines the capabilities of the connected home.

Halo Light provides mesh connectivity to deliver Wi-Fi that supports multiple connected home devices, including mobile devices, streaming appliances, wearables and smart home IoT devices.

With a screen on the Halo Light that provides date, time and weather information as well as system or network alerts, users can set up, manage and troubleshoot the network. Beyond just fast connection to the internet, Halo Light provides comfort and control in the user’s life by showing security alerts and allowing new capabilities in privacy protection.

The Tech Behind It

Halo Light features airSafe, a patent-pending intelligent Wi-Fi tracking system that uses machine learning technology to learn and map the Wi-Fi signatures of network-connected devices at home, including smartphones, tablets and wearables.

Users can assign names to each device using the mobile app. Halo Light can then detect unordinary activities on the devices and send alerts, helping families monitor and protect children or elderly family members. The system can also alert the user if an unknown Wi-fi device is in close range, indicating the potential presence of an intruder.

Halo Light incorporates security software that allows the system to block malicious connections to and from smart home devices. Anti-tracking software prevents tracking sites from collecting data about users without permission, and parental device control options with content filtering is also available through the app.

The app gives users weekly updates on the health and performance of the network, from average network speed to the number of cyber threats blocked. The system also reports the top three applications by time spent on various connected devices.

Beyond a connection to the internet, Halo Light provides a secure and multi-functional system for an improved connected home experience.

See Halo Light at the CES 2020 Innovation Awards Showcase.