NextDrive: An Approach towards Home Energy Management System

The growing awareness and concerns for green living and smart homes leads to a need for smart power solutions for homes and businesses. However, with renewable energy and developments in IoT continuing to improve the quality of life and the industry, people are expecting a better world. Designing IoT applications to meet expectations is not the primary focus; complexity arises when companies try to offer numerous solutions but none with the approach of total integration. Founded in 2013, the Taiwan-based NextDrive, an IoT company provides a comprehensive suite of vertical integration solutions ranging from cloud, software, and apps to hardware and firmware.

NextDrive has diverse offerings for its markets such as in Japan it’s more focused on energy applications whereas, in Taiwan, it provides smart home solutions. With the Japanese government fostering on the utilization of smart meters, the power companies need a gateway to retrieve data from smart meters.

"Revolutionizing Japan's energy market, we provide advanced home energy management system (HEMS) solution to unite energy users and providers. Our IoT gateway device, Cube J connects to smart meters and smart grids for power management in homes and stores," mentions Jeryuan Yan, CEO. Using Cube J, NextDrive provides a zero energy house (ZEH) setup which combines advanced design and superior building systems with energy efficiency and on-site solar panels to produce a better home.

The connectivity of gateway devices with smart meters allows NextDrive to perform various operations like visualizing the usage of electricity, assisting the old and needy people or watching over the home care activities. In 2016, over 27.6 percent of Japan's population was reported to be of elderly people aged over 65 years, and home care became a serious issue. Pertaining to such issues, NextDrive’s IoT gateway addresses the security needs and nursing care of the elderly people.

NextDrive’s IoT gateway has helped numerous clients and business partners. One business partner that reaped significant benefits from the company’s IoT device is IIJ. The Japan-based system integrator, IIJ shares a B2B2C model with NextDrive. Before engaging with NextDrive, IIJ was utilizing a legacy system whose inbuilt connectivity didn't allow users to connect to any Wi-Fi or Bluetooth devices. The NextDive team designed an IoT gateway device—Cube. The plug and play device was incorporated with video technology and was also integrated with Wi- Fi, Bluetooth, and USB connections along with privacy concerns for the end users. Gauging the power usage and connecting to home care devices were few of the gateway’s features. In about three months, the CEO of the company decided to use NextDrive's solution replacing their old solutions and the NextDrive team helped them win a big customer—a power company in Japan in another six months.

NextDrive carefully listens to the customer’s feedback after developing each of its products and work towards making the products more feasible. It has been NextDrive’s recipe for success. The company’s mission is to extend services with more convenience and a reduced cost structure.

The influence of the Japanese and Taiwanese market has always motivated NextDrive to innovate and continue to extend its reach. With Aloha and Cephax making all the noise in the market, NextDrive is all set to launch its next IoT version of the gateway. The new gateway will leverage the cellular networks and will also be capable of being connected to different IoT technologies. “Most of the things we do are in terms of software as a service. We are working on bringing new services to the table and that is confidential for now,” concludes Jeryuan.