Last year, mountain climber, Mariusz Malkowski, took home automation to new heights when he remotely controlled home automation devices from the top of Cho Oyu, the sixth-highest mountain in the world.  This year Malkowski will be going even further and higher to prove that “Home is Wherever You Are.”  He will be climbing to the summit of Mount Everest, Earth’s highest mountain, over 29,000 feet above sea-level, where he will be controlling FIBARO devices and other Z-Wave powered devices located on the other side of the globe in Las Vegas, Nevada.

FIBARO will be launching and celebrating the FIBARO Mount Everest Challenge at ISE Amsterdam with a number of exciting events under the banner of “From Amsterdam to the Top.”  Journalists will be able to participate in a special “meet and greet” in the ISE pressroom with Mariusz Malkowski.  In addition, journalists will be provided with a tablet with which they will be able to remotely operate FIBARO home automation devices located in showrooms in three distant locations: Poland, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Also coinciding with the ISE Amsterdam activities will be the launch of a new FIBARO Mount Everest Challenge Facebook page and a new website page.  Visitors to these extremely interactive and informative pages will be invited to “help Mariusz prepare his home and backpack for the trip.”  An application on these pages will allow users to do things like: lock the doors in Mariusz’ home, turn off the electricity, shut off the lights and shut off the water.

Mariusz Malkowski is a 40-year-old technical services manager at Sigma Designs, a member of the 300-member Z-Wave Alliance.  Malkowski has climbed world-class mountains on four continents, many of them by himself.  For the FIBARO Challenge, Malkowski will be climbing Mount Everest alone, with no porters and no supplemental oxygen.  He is scheduled to begin his ascent on April 3 or 4 and will conclude around the end of May. An initial live connection is planned for ISC West in Las Vegas with a broadcast of a FIBARO demonstration from the Malkowski’s Everest base camp.

Using only his smartphone for the demonstration from the Everest summit, Malkowski will control various home automation scenes featuring a number of Z-Wave powered devices, including FIBARO sensors.  The purpose is to show end-users the dependability of Z-Wave technology, as well as highlighting the overall benefits of home automation.