How IoT & Smart Home Automation Will Change the Way We LivePosted by Pereira Wilder on May 16th, 2021 The smart home The concept behind the smart home is that an automation system will be able to operate systems throughout the house. The variety of potential options are considerable and includes environmental systems (lighting, heating, climate control etc.), entertainment systems, individual appliances, and security systems. As the idea is that many operations can be automated - thus saving the house owner effort and time - these systems may also be user controlled. An example would be having the capacity to set the heating ahead on later if you were going to go back home later or telling the entertainment system to find you some suitable music for attempting to. There is significant prospect of IoT smart home solutions to change the way that we live. Additional hints include: Saving time. Most of the IoT smart home products are designed to take out of our hands the various nugatory activities that we have to do on a regular basis, leaving more of our time for important or enjoyable activities. Improving standard of living. By making the home a less strenuous, healthier and less stressful spot to maintain, smart home automation using IoT might help improve the standard of living. Saving money. Fully utilizing IoT can cut costs on house operating costs, for example by reducing unnecessary heating or lighting bills and integrating with smart grids to give an individual greater visibility on the electricity they are using. Medical and security benefits One of the main areas that is explored for smart homes is that linked to improving health. Several IoT smart home products have already been developed that aim to monitor the status of the environment in the house. This includes, for example, monitoring the health of the air across a number of categories - humidity, temperature, dust, CO2 etc. This information is then transmitted to a control interface where the user (the house owner or house occupier) can examine it and take appropriate action. Alternatively, this can be linked into other systems whereby automatic action could be taken to bring conditions back again to the desired level, such as for example automatically turning air cooling or filtering systems on. Other appliance-based solutions which are out there include fridges that can monitor the status of food, checking for spoilage or similar, while automated cleaning can help reduce dust and dirt in the house. Meanwhile, linking in security systems into IoT has made homes more secure. The most popular way this has been done is through using IoT enabled cameras in or around a house that enable an image or video feed to be sent in order that the home owner-occupier can check on the situation if they are away or if they are in another section of the property. Often these kind of devices have multiple features built-into them, such as automated motion sensors, sound detection, event-triggered video recording and so on. Future developments It's generally accepted that there are three generations of home automation development up to now: First generation: wireless technology with proxy ip server, e.g. Zigbee automation; Second generation: artificial intelligence controls electrical devices, e.g. Amazon Echo; Third generation: robot buddy who interacts with humans, e.g. Robot Rovio, Roomba. While the leading edge of technology often gets the headlines, in many homes there is still substantial progress to be made with the initial and second generation of systems. It is often entertainment-linked systems that generate the most media coverage, with the many personal home assistants - such as for example Amazon's Echo, Google Home, Sonos One, Apple HomePod among others - having been particularly popular. With the growing and accelerating roll out and uptake by customers of IoT smart home tools and solutions, demand for additional services or tools is likely to increase. The sheer selection of potential within the smart home will ensure that IoT within the home will continue steadily to develop in the years ahead.Like it? Share it! More by this author |