Bluetooth Lighting System Controlled via Visual iPhone App

A picture is worth more than words … especially when controlling the smart devices in your home. Avion Innovative has applied this concept to a new lighting system. Instead of looking for words that describe how you want to control your lights, the app takes you to photos of the rooms of your home. From here you can choose a room, engage a lighting scene and adjust the intensity levels of lights in that room.

Called the PhotoTouch, this menu system created by Avion Innovative strives to make lighting control intuitive for every member of the family.

Going away? You can press the airplane photo to engage an “away” scene that turns off the lights and other devices. Ready for dinner? One press of an icon on the PhotoTouch menu will set the brightness perfectly for a casual dinner with the family. Just you and your spouse dining in? Access the menu to dim the lights to evoke a romantic scene.

Although the system and app are new, Avion designed it to be compatible with one of the oldest home control standards—X10. According to Avion, “the system was created for the experienced X10 user who wants an elegant upgrade using today’s technology.” Setup involves plugging in a X10 lamp or appliance module and specifying the X10 House / Unit codeWith Avion BTX10, editing a series of commands we call Events can be done on the fly and the system updates in real time in seconds.

Each lighting scene can be scheduled to turn on, off, dim or trigger a relay. The latter enables the system to control other devices besides light switches. The Basic BTX10 app is free at the Apple App store and operates four zones. Optional six- and 12-zone upgrades are available.

Each iPhone or iPad that’s paired with the system can be used to program its own set of lights and appliances.

The Avion Bluetooth X10 controller, which comes in three different configurations, can be used as a tabletop controller or hidden.

Avion Basic can control up to 20 devices in 4 zones and launch as many as 8 scenes. It retails for $199.

Avion Plus bumps this up to 20 devices in 6 zones and 12 scenes. It retails for $219 plus $20 for software.

The largest of the three models, Avion Pro, can handle the control of as many as 32 devices in 12 zones and 25 scenes. It retails for $239 plus $40 for the software.