At last June's WWDC (World Wide Developers Conference), Apple announced HomeKit, a new feature of iOS 8 that allows home automation manufacturers to tie their devices to Apple hardware and software, for both basic remote control and smart integration between devices.

HomeKit-aware products will make use of chips from Marvell, Texas Instruments, and Broadcom that include Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities, along with special firmware developed by Apple that contains the HomeKit protocol, which is designed to unify devices from multiple manufacturers under one controlling architecture: Apple's iOS.

The HomeKit protocol is used to announce a device's presence to iOS devices, and define what the device is capable of doing and what actions it can perform. Working together, an iOS device, such as your iPhone or iPad, or perhaps even a new Apple TV, could issue commands to control your home's lighting, heating and cooling, music, and security. It could even monitor the weather for you, and perhaps close the skylights when the forecast calls for rain.

Companies already have products, such as El Gato's Avea lighting system, that work with iOS devices, but now, according to Forbes, there will soon be quite a few more entries in the home automation, and specifically HomeKit, marketplace, thanks to Apple finishing up the needed firmware, and the chip makers shipping the controller chips to the home automation manufacturers.

Apple has been busy getting ready for HomeKit's official unveiling, publishing guides and rules for HomeKit developers. Now, with hardware making its way to manufacturers, I expect to see HomeKit-enabled devices making their way to us by the end of the year, or in early 2015.

Some home automation devices that are already available work with iOS devices, but these devices, including thermostats, security cameras, smoke detectors, baby monitors, and lighting systems, all work independently of each other. HomeKit versions of these devices will be able to work together in a smart home environment.