All of these systems are complex, but in essence, they use electricity, radio waves, and wireless technology to send and receive messages between devices.
X10 was the initial industry standard for smart home automation, which facilitated the connection of devices primarily through power line wiring, radio frequency, and wireless-based protocols. However, other leading protocols like Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Insteon have emerged today, relying more heavily on modern wireless technology such as mesh-networking. All of these systems are complex, but in essence, they use electricity, radio waves, and wireless technology to send and receive messages between devices.