It’s safe to say we know a thing or two about creating smart technology. After all, one in three homes in Great Britain have a Chameleon Technology in-home display.
Our design philosophy has always been to make products that are seamless, practical, and easy to use. No matter the end user – young, old, technical or consumer – our experienced team are always pushing to make them clear,
Now, the Gateway Connect is the next evolution in smart in-home devices, designed specifically with the needs of landlords and housing associations in mind.
But how did this compact, powerful device come to be? Let’s take a look under the hood.
From Bespoke Solution to Multi-Functional Platform
The Gateway Connect’s journey initially began with a different use in mind. “It was originally a concept, bespoke design for another customer,” explains Gil Molho, Chameleon’s Head of Industrial Design. “We were building a solution for outdated AMR meters, which became our Gateway Business product.”
A crucial early decision was incorporating an RJ12 connector to transmit data externally. This seemingly small technical detail was the key to unlocking the Gateway’s potential. As Gil adds, “From that point, we opened it up to other scenarios. What else could we do with this compact, unobtrusive box? How else could we push our data capabilities?”
The answer was clear: create a highly flexible, multi-market device that could provide valuable insights into home energy and environmental data. In doing so, it became the perfect tool for property managers, landlords and social housing providers for real-time data.
Custom Antennas: Maximum Power, Minimum Footprint
The Gateway family’s flexibility hinges on its engineering. Karl Woodward, Chameleon’s Head of Engineering, notes, “The Gateway range is designed to be multi-market with minimal compromise.”
To achieve this, the team focused on custom antennas that could help the products be as flexible and efficient as possible.
“Our Gateway Connect has exceptional radio performance due to its custom cellular and ISM band antennas, while maintaining a small and compact package,” Karl explains. “This custom antenna setup gives the designs excellent radio isolation, along with best-in-class performance for all internal radios.”
Working with Quectel, our designers engineered a breakthrough. Jack Lowe, Lead Industrial Designer at Chameleon Technology, says, “We wanted to design an antenna to maximise performance without sacrificing space. It has incredible performance, better than most modern mobiles I would say.”
A Smart, Streamlined Design
Unlike our In-Home Displays (IHD), which need to be visible for households to benefit from the data, the Gateway Connect was intentionally designed to be unobtrusive. This required a streamlined, functional design process.
“You always start with functionality – what the product needs to do,” Gil explains.
By designing the Gateway devices in parallel, the team ensured a singular product shell could serve multiple scenarios. “By designing the products in tandem, we were assessing the needs for all of them at the same time rather than each product in isolation,” says Jack. “Once we had a range of viable scenarios and product ideas, we distilled those into a concept that was flexible enough to be used for everything at once.”
This approach led to an efficient, scalable product family: “We went down the route of having a thick and thin version of the product, which could give you different ‘flavours’ depending on needs, but without needing to expend time and money with too many unique parts. The thinner Wi-Fi only version became the Gateway Home, while the specific bottom board for our custom cellular antenna was added to the Gateway Connect and Business.”
Data for Decision-Making: Integrated Sensors
The Gateway Connect isn’t just about meter data; it’s about providing context.
“We thought it important to also include a high accuracy temperature and humidity sensor as standard in all Gateway products, maximising the flexibility and functionality from a single cloud-enabled device,” says Karl.
Combining these environmental sensors with real-time smart meter data unlocks actionable insights for housing professionals, helping you assess:
- Risk of fuel poverty (low home temperature + low energy use)
- Poor thermal efficiency (internal temp + external temp + amount of energy used to heat home)
- Risk of damp & mould (temp + humidity)
- Accurate sizing and suitability of low-carbon tech (home energy usage analysis)
Crucially, the design is future-proofed. “The final consideration, to turn the Gateways into true multi-tools, was a multi-functional communication port,” Karl explains. “This port is included in the Gateway Business and Gateway Connect, allowing both to add on additional sensors – such as C02 – or external communications support, making it a truly capable platform for the future.”
A Platform Built for Compliance and Quality
The Gateway Connect may look simple, but its engineering is anything but.
This device offers an affordable, scalable solution, giving landlords and housing associations the accurate data they need to meet new pressures like Awaab’s Law and the Decent Homes Standard.
“I’m very proud of the team’s work. Having such a flexible design format means that, with just small tweaks, it can serve multiple purposes. That brings the development price down, which means we can offer a competitive price for customers without compromising on quality”
Gil Molho, Head of Industrial Design
“I’m incredibly proud of the work everyone put in. It’s always amazing to see a product make it into production. It may look unassuming, as a compact box, but the engineering quality inside it is incredible.”
Jack Lowe, Lead Industrial Designer
Get in touch to find out how our Gateway Connect can help you manage your property portfolio.
