Part 1 of this two-part article covers the KNX Association presence at ISE 2024, explaining its main message to the pro-AV and systems integration market, and what it provided for visitors.
This was the 20th anniversary of ISE, the leading annual trade show aimed at the pro-AV and systems integration community. It took place 30 January – 2 February at the Fira de Barcelona, Spain and attracted 73,891 unique verified attendees from 162 countries – a record since the show’s inception in Geneva in 2004.
KNX was the Presenting Show Partner, and had a large stand in Hall 2 – the Residential and Smart Building Hall. In addition to the KNX stand, which featured display panels from a wide range of KNX members, there were also dedicated stands, mostly in Hall 2, from KNX members including Control4/Snap One, Basalte, Zennio, RTI, Simon, Q-SYS, Nice, Airzone, Gira, and Vimar.
The KNX message
KNX Association’s main focus was on IoT integration, energy management and security, all combined in one ecosystem. To demonstrate this, the KNX stand featured a graphic with interconnected devices showcasing seamless communication and interoperability.
Additionally, in conjunction with KNX distributor and training provider, Ivory Egg, KNX Association helped visitors understand how they could join the ranks of the now over 120,000 certified KNX professionals worldwide.
Presentations
Throughout the event, KNX participated in several sessions and presentations to educate attendees about the latest advancements and applications of the KNX standard. In particular, the two main sessions to highlight were the presentation by KNX Association President, Franz Kammerl, at the Smart Building conference that took place on the first day of ISE. Under the title of ‘A New Era is Coming’, Mr Kammerl explained how KNX is always innovating which is why it is always ahead of the game and can handle the future now.
Mr Kammerl also participated in a CEDIA panel discussion on how KNX is used in home automation. Other panel members included Mark Warburton of Ivory Egg, Wim de Vos of Genesis, and Jeff Thomas of Control 4.
Visitor feedback
According to KNX Association Marketing, Casto Cañavate, “Visitors to the KNX stand showed interest in a wide range of topics, including the integration of KNX with emerging applications such as energy management, all of which was covered by solutions offered by KNX members presenting their products on our stand. On top of this, we also received much interest in the KNX IoT devices presented at the KNX stand by the company Cascoda”.
Perhaps not surprisingly, given the scope of ISE as a pro-AV and systems integration show, many visitor were keen to understand how they could integrate AV systems with KNX. There was also a lot of interest in the scalability of KNX solutions for both residential and commercial projects.
KNX community
ISE also offered visitors the opportunity to network and socialise. The KNX stand is always a welcoming place, and the energy generated by having so many enthusiastic members exhibiting their wares is palpable. Furthermore KNX Association held a party on the last evening of the show to provide staff and visitors yet another opportunity to interact in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
In Part 2 of this two-part article, we will give a flavour of the direction that KNX technology is taking by providing a summary of what each display panel on the KNX stand had on show.
