A world where your home intuitively understands your needs and adapts to your preferences seamlessly. Smart homes, which during the early 2000’s had our eyeballs popping out of their sockets every time we saw them in a sci-fi movie, are now a reality and are taking over the world. It has become domestic.
Because going smart may come with its own dangers, it is only natural that people are concerned about their privacy. A little birdie says that solid state semiconductors may be the guardian angel that acts as a shield against such privacy concerns. They not only ensure the functionality of smart devices but also play a critical role in ensuring the security of these devices and the data that they handle.
As smart homes become more common, there is an increasing concern about the security of the data they handle. Solid-state semiconductors can be programmed to add an extra layer of security by encrypting the data, making it more difficult for unauthorised parties to access sensitive information. This encryption helps safeguard the privacy of individuals using smart home devices.
Smart homes have already become the new norm not only because of its handsome features but also because tech giants such as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics are unlocking the full potential of and managing them easier. Apple has its own Apple Home or Homekit which is the company’s smart home platform that allows the user to utilise the app or Siri voice commands to communicate with the smart products at home. This app acts as a centralised hub for managing all your devices. Samsung offers the same functionalities with its Samsung SmartThings app.
What takes place inside a smart home?
While most of us are aware about what a smart home is, we are not entirely informed about what it entails. What exactly is smart home technology?
The foundation of a smart home is built on an interconnected ecosystem of devices, appliances, and systems that communicate with each other to create a cohesive and responsive living environment. The smart devices are commonly linked to a central hub or platform using the Internet of Things (IoT). This connection enables homeowners to control these functions, remotely.
IoT, which is actually the glue that holds smart homes together, enables devices to communicate with one another via the internet, exchanging information and coordinating tasks without requiring human interaction. For instance, your smart thermostat can learn and adapt to your favoured temperature settings over time, automatically regulating the heating or cooling system as needed.
The devices installed in a smart home are equipped with sensors, internet connectivity, and artificial intelligence, enabling them to gather data, process information, and make decisions autonomously. This is famously known as a home automation system. The system functions as the control centre of a smart home. The array of functionalities that it enables range from something basic as programming your coffee maker to brew your coffee to your liking or as intricate as setting up a complex system of security cameras that send live video feeds to your smartphone.
This does not mean that you will wake up to your fridge moonwalking at 3 am in the morning. But it means that the home involves a sophisticated system that links with your devices, allowing you to automate tasks and manage them remotely. This system can be used to schedule sprinkler usage, and regulate appliances such as your fridge or HVAC (heating, air conditioning and ventilation) system.
For example, the majority of smart refrigerators enable you to view the contents of your fridge in real-time, regardless of your location. If trying to remember the grocery list drives you up a wall, because you don’t remember what you need to buy, this would be an ideal solution.
Additionally, some models offer the capability of displaying expiration dates of your groceries stored inside it. This functionality helps you consume items before they spoil, preventing the need to repurchase them and saving your money. This way, you will not forget to buy necessities when grocery shopping because with just a click of your finger you can scan your fridge to figure out what needs to be restocked. Which means that if you crave to gollop a tub of ice-cream at the crack of dawn, you will be at ease to know that thanks to your fridge notifying you, your grocery shopping included buying that extra ice-cream tub as well.
What is poppin’?
The past half a decade has been an era of evolving trends. The situation is no different in the realm of smart homes either. Interestingly, observations prove the concept of smart homes is not something only high-end home-owners can call dibs on anymore. Rather, people are actually purchasing homes that have at least a brick of smartness in them. With the general public developing a taste for smart homes, there are a few trends that have made the headlines.
“Alexa play a sad song” is a phrase that we had gotten accustomed to. We knew that Alexa and Siri, both, could play the song we wanted to listen to, on our command.
But how about, “Alexa, dim the lights in my living room”? .Interestingly, voice assistants such as Alexa and Siri have become commonplace in smart homes, allowing people to interact with AI systems in intuitive ways.
AI – the one that shares the throne with innovations such as Thomas Alva Edison’s light bulb, is making its mark on smart homes as well. Inculcating AI-driven assistants in homes have been refined to better understand and respond to user commands. Voice assistants and AI in general enable a variety of tasks like playing music, managing to-do lists,and controlling lighting through voice commands and smartphone apps.
Another trend that came into play during the recent years is touchless tech. This trend was already on its way to influencing the smart home sector, but the outbreak of COVID-19 further accelerated its adoption throughout the years that followed. You have probably come across the touchless hand sanitizer dispensers in places like retail stores. While these might not be connected to smart technology, the possibility for integration exists. This touchless concept is broadening its reach.
To give you a clear picture, the concept of touchlessness has been applied to doorbells. Alarm.com introduced their touchless doorbell in 2021. It incorporates video analytics to automatically trigger the doorbell when it detects a person standing on your doorstep. Thus, these types of doorbells allow visitors to announce their presence without physically touching a surface that others might also touch, potentially transmitting germs. Moreover, a significant number of household devices are now controlled through mobile applications. This means that each person with control interacts solely with their personal phone, minimising direct contact with the device itself.
In the terrain of smart homes, the different forms of technology that are used have seamlessly integrated into our modern lives. This era is characterised by homes that adjust to our preferences, resulting in a remarkably safe, convenient, and a cosy lifestyle.
(Sandunlekha Ekanayake)