Your content goes here. Edit or remNishan Fernando returned to Sri Lanka after graduating from the University of Sheffield, UK and joined an import and distribution company handling terrestrial receiving equipment like TV antennas and boosters. He was heading its Project Development Unit when a restructure of the company, rebranded as Shinrai Lanka, saw him promoted to Managing Director. On a mission to make life-improving technologies accessible to all, Fernando wants to take the concept of smart homes mainstream, and quickly.ove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.

What does Shinrai do and can you explain your partnership with Orvibo?

We provide affordable smart home solutions people can access on their mobile phones. People from all walks of life in urban or rural areas can spend more time doing the things that matter to them the most, live in comfort and worry less about things like home security, leaving lights, TV, AC switched on, forgetting to lock doors or simple things such as overcharging your phone. Our vision is to be the preferred supplier of innovative products and services that will enrich the lives of Sri Lankans. We are on the lookout for new technologies that uplift the lives of people, and this is how we came to launch Shinrai Smart homes in January 2020 after finding a suitable partner in Orvibo, and extensively testing products and services for this market.

Shinrai Lanka is a home automation company. We convert homes and offices into smart spaces with IoT technology and do everything starting from design, installation, commissioning, and testing. Orvibo is a pioneer of the IoT industry in China since 2011. They focus on R&D, technology innovation and manufacturing to create simple, smart, and delightful products that make life better. Shinrai is the authorized distributor of Orvibo in Sri Lanka.

Tell us about your products and services and the technology behind them?

We have solutions where you can automate your home and switch it to a smart home. This includes Smart lighting, security, curtains and IR devices. We also have standalone products such as Wi-Fi smart plugs, smart door locks and a device called the Magic Cube, which is a universal remote. Anything with a remote can be configured to it and accessed by a smartphone from anywhere at any time. You can switch on your bedroom air conditioning, so you have a cooled room waiting for you after a warm day. You can include other infra-red controlled devices like TV and DVD players, surround sounds, Dialog TV or Peo TV set up box. We deploy a mix of technologies from AI, IoT and cloud computing. All smart devices connect to the internet via a hub which we configure to a smartphone app called HomeMate. We can take the extra step and add Alexa or Google Home as well. Then you can talk to your home, “switch off bedroom lights” or “switch off kitchen lights”.

How is the market for smart homes evolving in Sri Lanka and can you give us a sense of what the potential growth will look like, and where it will come from in the long term (is it from improving incomes and rising middle-income homeowners, or expatriates etc.)?

Over the last few months, we realized that there is more potential in the market for smart homes than we expected. People are on the lookout for new trends and ways in which they can add comfort to a busy lifestyle. With several apartment complexes promoting smart homes, the concept is growing fast.

We are not the first, or only, smart homes solutions provider. But we are on a mission to take the concept mainstream. We have affordable packages to suit any household, and we see strong demand outside Colombo, which is very encouraging. We partnered with banks such as HNB to provided easy monthly instalments.

We can work with existing wiring: even old homes can become smart dwellings, one room at a time. Clients may even opt for standalone solutions like door locks or smart lighting. Soon, we will introduce smart technology for the kitchen as well, converting hobs into smart devices for safety and efficiency!

Property is shaping up to be a hot investment option, how can companies such as Shinrai add value to properties, as an investment option or a place to live?

 Our smart home solutions will exponentially improve safety, comfort, and convenience, so people will have time for what they love to do in an increasingly busy world. In terms of investments, Shinrai can add value. We believe the market value of a smart apartment will be worth at least 5-10% more because of the unmatched comfort, convenience, and security it brings.