Step into the Cobb Home Innovations experience center, and you step into Hugh Cobbs’ real-life house. The house has been fully renovated and is built to give customers an experience center for the latest array of residential AV and smart home technology. Hugh designed the entire home to be not only comfortable but as a way to showcase how technology doesn’t have to be cookie-cutter or difficult to operate.

What started out as a house flip project for Hugh and his wife Joyce turned into a full-scale renovation project that showcases the best that modern home control and automation has to offer.

With his more than 30 years in technology, Hugh knows there’s a lot that technology can do for people. As the home took shape, it opened up new ideas and possibilities for him. Every part of the home is integrated with technology that blends in and simplifies the user experience, from control and automation of camera and security systems to the entrance gate and garage doors to water valves and lighting, shading, audio and video.

“Technology can be scary. There’s that element of the unknown,” said Hugh. “My goal was to have a place where customers can come see these solutions operating in a real-world home scenario and give them ideas of what’s possible within their own home rather than trying to imagine what the experience would be like from a mass merchant. It can eliminate the confusion by actually seeing technology work for them first hand.”

Hugh’s vision required a cutting-edge, open control and automation platform that could easily integrate all new technologies into the home. In 2008, he became an RTI and Pro Control dealer after seeing how limitless the systems were in their capabilities and at a price point his customers could get behind.

The home features an array of AV technology from several companies and several of Hugh’s own patented technology. He leans heavily on RTI and Pro Control’s comprehensive control and automation systems, which keep pace with the wide scope of technological needs and allows him to develop drivers for his own patented products, including a décor tile that can be installed even in wet areas of the home. With an RTI interface, users can easily adjust the color or brightness of the tile. The control and automation capabilities also reach the home’s outdoor entertainment area, lifting screens hidden in furniture, powering the fireplace, and the water feature.

“RTI allows me to integrate literally everything and showcase even my own products within the home ecosystem,” he said. “When customers see what they can do with one button from a controller, from turning off water valves to closing their gate and even tap into their voice control speaker, it really drives home what technology can do for them. Our home offers a unique experience and it’s had a tremendous influence on our clients.”

Cobb literally lives his passion. It’s allowed him and his clients to play with and see the possibilities. And as an engineer, he’s always rolling out new ideas that evolve his business and keep pace with new technology trends.