Behind the Curtain: CRT Labs

Tucked behind frosted glass doors at the National Association of REALTORS® headquarters at 430 N. Michigan Avenue is a fully functioning technology laboratory, filled with cutting edge smart home gadgets, as well as some tester products that have yet to even reach the market. This is the home of the Center for REALTOR® Technology (CRT Labs, for short). Here, the staff (plus one intern), spend their days testing smart home devices, studying the Internet of Things (IoT), and exploring the applications of such technology on single homes as well as neighborhoods, communities and, ultimately, cities. Chad Curry, the Managing Director of CRT Labs, guided us through the 600 square foot lab which he oversaw in its year-long transformation from training room to technology hub. The edges of the room are a veritable showcase of standing desks boasting tools and dozens of products, a 3D printer and even a soldering hood. They encourage visiting the laboratory and are eager to beta test devices with REALTORS® and the homeowners they work with. “45% of homeowners will have some type of smart device by the end of 2016,” Curry said. The CRT team is excited for the future and how their role gives REALTORS® a handle on Big Data and its Analytics, particularly in real estate. Based off this data, agents can then make better business decisions and demonstrate their usefulness to clients. “Your home is a living, breathing thing,” Curry said. “We’re talking about putting a brain in it, so that you can understand how best to live in it and how to make changes to improve the quality of life.” He compares the concept of a home to an organism without a central nervous system— that’s where CRT Labs comes in. The way that CRT Labs works is three-fold: education, advocacy and innovation.

Education

Striving to educate members on what to use and how to use it is a priority. The devices can help REALTORS® maintain relationships with clients. For example, gifting environment quality sensors as a closing gift not only shows off the agent’s savvy and business appeal; it also genuinely offers the client a method of improving their home efficiency and health. “What we talk about, you have access to,” Curry said. CRT Labs is currently working on a way REALTORS® can see which devices have been tested. Curry compares the metrics a FitBit would provide about the number of steps taken in a day to the metrics for air quality and humidity. It’s all about knowing what a home has and then determining if it is good for the home. CRT Labs has created a walk-through checklist so REALTORS® may take accurate inventory of connected devices prior to closing, and they have made a glossary of devices and a FAQ page available. CRT’s hands-on approach is churning on several fronts, working to make devices smaller and to bring prices down, as well as offering consultation on what devices consumers should get. Accessibility is the name of the game.

Advocacy

Privacy and security are the coolest features developing in the CRT lab. One particular product in development is a voice controlled hub that doesn’t store on the cloud. Instead, its privacy-conscious storage systems save its data on an SD card. Curry also has high hopes for the success of environmental quality sensors, and since indoor air quality is five times more toxic than outdoor air, these sensors can turn around the quality of living for people with respiratory issues or asthma. He also showed off smart home security cameras that can count how many cars and people go by a building. Tens of thousands of cars go by the CRT office building in a day, and the application of such statistics for a REALTOR® who could capitalize on knowing how many people see the front of a building is endless.

Innovation

The research and development (R&D) taking place in CRT Labs is composed entirely of building and testing devices in the lab to push forward their initiatives. CRT Labs already partners with several big name companies such as Nest, Bosch, and Canary, as well as universities and other tech labs. One such CRT initiative is to improve communication between devices that originate from different brands and operating systems. With improved communication, the devices can provide a sort of “homeostasis” of conditions with minimal manual control. Chris Cote, the lead lab engineer, is a long-time Chicago resident who boasts no prior experience in real estate; he is balanced out by Dave Conroy, another lab engineer, who previously was the Director of IT for the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®. The dynamic pair steer the testing of various products and make them available to members. CRT Labs even created its own telepresence robot called “The Double” which offers remote tours of the lab for members or visitors who cannot physically make it to the lab yet still desire speaking with the team members and absorbing the advancement of real estate technology awareness. Through “The Double,” visitors can see the Thermobox, a CRT Labs invention, with different smart thermostats mounted on it. Designed for portability and controlled demonstrations, when used it gives members a chance to practice using the smart thermostat products based on real results and data. REALTOR® members have more exposure to homes than anyone else. Curry envisions using that knowledge to give REALTORS® an edge. “Our heating and cooling devices are promising, since they tend to be the costliest components in a home. We can help homeowners save 10-15% energy,” he said. He also notes that sensors can be placed in parks and neighborhoods, providing data on how many children use a playground or whether more trees should be planted to provide cleaner air in a neighborhood. Hard data like this can be used by a city for grant applications. The possibilities go on. At CRT Labs, they talk of tiny sensors yet envision reinvigorated communities. Every sheet of beta tested data is proof that REALTORS® and those at CRT Labs have the tools to truly shape their community and Chicago for the better.