In the IoT era, these devices are not standalone units but are capable of talking to each other
Nigel Eastwood
Sharing, connecting and collaborating are the most basic of things easily achieved by a smartphone. We have all benefitted from the experience -- mobile internet connectivity has made our lives simpler, helped us do routine tasks like paying bills, with ease and helped us in work and play. With so much available on the palm, why not extend the same to homes?
That vision of ‘smart homes’ where devices talk to each other; fingerprints are keys to doors; lights get switched on and off on their own; devices remind you where you have kept the car keys or your favourite music plays automatically when you sit down to relax is not new. But current technologies bring that vision closer to us than it has ever been in the past.
Long back, home automation and smart homes meant getting automatic washing machines or smart microwaves or smart refrigerators. These are now a given in almost all homes but remain standalone units, unable to communicate with each other.
In the smart digital era, these devices are not standalone units but are capable of talking to each other. That’s what’s making homes smart. The scope of a smart home spans ventilation, air-conditioners, toilets, cleaning, leak and smoke detection, appliance control and more.
Much of this is increasingly becoming a reality as today internet senses, thinks and acts -- and devices exchange information via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi or public telecom networks.
For instance, in a few years, when you are at work, your washing machine powered by a smart grid or a solar panel can automatically switch on around mid-day when the solar power output is at its peak and complete the task of cleaning clothes -- saving time and energy. Of course you still have to put the clothes in the machine. Even if the machine is running low on detergent, it can send a message to your e-tailer to include that in the cart and ship it just when you need to replenish the washing powder!
This vision might be outlandish but feasible with Internet of Things (IoT) -- that is sensors connected together and working as an intelligent grid to do the mundane tasks.
In cities like Delhi and Mumbai, where people are concerned about pollution levels, sensors can automatically switch on air purifier after analysing the indoor air quality.
Such clever things will become routine. And this is not another promise in the distant future, but pretty much possible now. The whole connected era is about smart devices, embedded with sensors, regularly exchanging information and making our lives better.
Research firm IDC believes that the global IoT market will grow from $656 billion in 2014 to $1.7 trillion in 2020, this growth fuelled by rise of connected homes, cars and wearable devices.
Not surprisingly, almost every company wants a slice of this connected devices era pie.
Google Weave protocol and Brillo project are Android-based embedded operating systems platforms aimed to be used with low-power and memory-constrained IoT devices. Apple has HomeKit that allows developers to write software that discovers, configures, communicates and controls devices for home automation. And there’s an open alliance with members including Microsoft, LG, Canon and others. The goal of these platforms is to support growth of IoT. Key to this is low energy consumption and information sharing among multiple devices -- say a Sony TV should be able to interact with LG fridge and Kohler bathroom fixtures.
At the recent Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, there were plenty of connected home, smart home IoT devices on display, like televisions that double up as home assistants -- keeping an eye within and taking decisions -- like they could send an alert on your smartphone that you left a window open.
Take something mundane like a water leak. A large industrial and home equipment company displayed a Wi-Fi water leak detector that sends a notification on your phone if it senses a leaking pipe. And there are robot vacuum cleaners that send videos of areas cleaned to your smartphone and you can adjust the bot cleaners to focus on areas that need more attention.
On your kitchen table, you will probably be keeping tea, sugar, cookies jars on smart mats that send signals to your phone alerting on when to replenish stuff. With such wonders, your home could soon be a fusion of tradition and technology -- rare artworks and smart homes.
Nigel Eastwood is the group CEO of New Call Telecom
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