Do We Want Our Homes to be Smart?
Guest Infographic by Ana Bera
Smart homes – previously only something your saw in a sci fi flick, controlling your home by computer is now within the realm of possibility. The concept is not something new. As you will see from the infographic provided by SafeAtLast, the concept has been around since the sixties.
For quite some time now, we have had apps that allow us to check the cameras within our homes and control some smart appliances.
What has changed, however, is the way that we communicate with those smart devices and how they can now communicate with one another. Improvements in tech have led to an increase in the number of smart devices.
That, in turn, has made companies more aware that smart devices need to be able to communicate effectively with one another. Advances in tech have led to the rise of smart hubs – centers from which you can control all the smart devices that you own.
Instead of having to worry that you buy all your devices from the same supplier, you can now use an assortment of manufacturers. The tech should all work together reasonably well.
Currently, smart tech is most used to control:
- Locks
- Thermostats/ Fans
- Carbon Monoxide Detectors
- Lighting
But these applications really are only the tip of the iceberg. We already have smart fridges that can keep track of the food placed in them. This is still in its infancy, so, for now, it means functions that are more a novelty than practical.
For example, playing music or sending photos from the fridge but you can also do useful things like compile shopping lists or create reminders. It’s just a start, though. Imagine a fridge that knows you’re running short of milk and automatically puts in an order.
Even that will be a run-of-the-mill feature in the smart homes of tomorrow.
