Success story

Eve MotionBlinds, a collaboration of Eve and Coulisse

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Some 3.1 million* connected blind motors were sold in 2020, making it an extremely popular category within the smart home industry. However, the vast majority of smart shades is still configured, mounted and automated by professionals as customers have found the products notoriously complicated to install.

Coulisse has been exceptionally successful selling motorized blinds powered by their smart MotionBlinds technology. MotionBlinds' key trait is user friendliness, and the Coulisse team led by owner and CEO Christiaan Roetgering wanted to double down on that. The goal was to eliminate the need for a bridge and, in the long term, make MotionBlinds a fully cross-platform product. However, none of the existing low-power wireless networking protocols seemed to facilitate this.

Built for the IoT: Thread

In late 2020, Apple’s HomePod mini added Thread support to HomeKit. A truly revolutionary mesh networking protocol, Thread was specifically developed for low-power IoT solutions, and is poised to become one of the pillars of the new Matter standard. The MotionBlinds product team at Coulisse immediately recognized the protocol's potential. Thread pioneers Eve Systems were the obvious partner to reach out to, especially with Jerome Gackel leading the company, a former Somfy North America CEO and blinds industry veteran.

Utilizing Eve's Bluetooth & Thread module Eve Core, it took Coulisse's and Eve's engineers just a few weeks to build a prototype. In September 2021, about 10 months after the collaboration between Eve and Coulisse had taken off, the first ultra-quiet, ultra-responsive Eve MotionBlinds motor went into production.

Step by Step Towards the Future of the Smart Home

Eve has delivered a state-of-the art implementation of MotionBlinds into the Apple ecosystem. As Eve MotionBlinds motors don’t need a proprietary bridge and support both Bluetooth and Thread, setup is super easy: Simply scan the HomeKit setup code with your iPhone. If a Border Router is present, which for HomeKit over Thread is HomePod mini or the new Apple TV 4K, Eve MotionBlinds will join the Thread network automatically. Putting the blinds on autopilot is effortless, thanks to on-device, network-independent schedules that can be created in the Eve app. And through HomeKit Scenes and Rules, the blinds seamlessly and securely interact with other HomeKit accessories, like light bulbs, thermostats, motion detectors and other sensor-based accessories. Just like any Eve accessory, Eve MotionBlinds are designed to safeguard user privacy. Instead of relying on a cloud, like most applications, all data and intelligence are stored locally on the motor.

But this is not the end of the journey: As soon as Matter, the smart home standard currently in development by Apple, Google, Amazon, SmartThings and many more, is available, Eve MotionBlinds motors will not only work directly with Apple HomeKit, but also with all other leading smart home systems. With its unparalleled connectivity and ease of use, Eve MotionBlinds offers tremendous potential for the adoption of motorized blinds in smart homes in the near future.

About Coulisse

Since 1992 Coulisse has been developing window coverings for the residential and the Since 1992 Coulisse has been developing window coverings for the residential and the commercial market. For bringing its products to the world, Coulisse works together with a network of trusted partners. The extensive range of Coulisse window covering solutions stands out for its innovative design, appeal and great functionality, and includes systems, fabrics and MotionBlinds smart technology. The entire Coulisse range is developed at the Coulisse headquarters in The Netherlands. www.coulisse.com

About Eve

Eve Systems builds beautiful connected home products that set superior standards of comfort, safety, and control. Products that turn everyday experiences into fulfilling moments that endure. Engineered in-house to combine seamless software with elegant hardware, Eve integrates into Apple HomeKit flawlessly, intuitively, and most importantly, securely. Because privacy is paramount, and what happens at home, must stay at home.

About Eve Core

Eve Core is a complete Thread & Bluetooth Low Energy module with chip antenna and several flexible I/O options, ready to be deployed with all relevant certifications. It runs the same proven firmware that is used by all low-power Eve products. It enables including HomeKit pairing, authentication, encryption and management for up to 16 controllers. The Eve Core firmware is developed by Eve Systems and the Eve Core module is manufactured by Eve's partner Dexatek Technologies in Taiwan.

*Omdia Research, 2021