2013 – MICROSOFT’S LAB OF THINGS LAUNCHES
Microsoft joined in the smart home party with its Lab of Things launch that encouraged researchers to start exploring various approaches to home automation. An exciting feature of the Lab is that it offers a handy virtual dashboard to monitor and control different interconnected devices and offers standards for developing home automation apps. Users who log into the Lab can view footages from their home security system or even get notifications when a door gets closed or opened, among other things.