Smart home: bigger pictures and killer issues

Have you ever tried visualizing about a smart home where most of the mundane chores will be done automatically or with minimal manual intervention? Dumb gadgets like heating and cooling system will start and stop automatically. Lights will be switched on or off depending on your presence. All your entertainment systems will be connected wirelessly and will communicate with each other wirelessly. Home security system will be activated when you are away and you will be able to monitor and view your home on your Smartphone wherever you are. Your imagination can go on and on…. To fuel your thoughts you can watch this interesting video:

In the past, we have seen discrete efforts in this direction. I have seen and wowed an air-conditioned system which can be started and the temperature set by sending an SMS. Its innovative but very simple. Basically a GPRS receiver is connected with an on-off controller and a thermostat. We have seen doorbell system with the camera can send pictures of the person on your doorstep. There is a basic flaw with this kind of system. They are smart, but designed with a narrow vision of connectivity. They are fit for purpose but fails to address the greater issues of interconnectivity and interoperability. This seems to be the greater emerging issue right at this moment.

So, how do the present preparedness and future plans look like? Frankly speaking, this article is provoked by Google’s acquisition of Next, a connected thermostat and fire/ smoke safety device. In a statement about the purchase, Google CEO Larry Page commented that “Nest’s founders, Tony Fadell and Matt Rogers, have built a tremendous team that we are excited to welcome into the Google family. They’re already delivering amazing products you can buy right now – thermostats that save energy and smoke/CO alarms that can help keep your family safe. We are excited to bring great experiences to more homes in more countries and fulfill their dreams!”

I personally believe that Google’s intention is far greater than a mere thermostat. The recent developments in smart home at CES 2014 gives me enough reason to believe that Google is more interested in the connectivity side of Next rather than thermostat per se. It reminds me that LG during CES 2014 announced about the HomeChat app partnering with Line messaging service. The whole idea of this is to provide a means to communicate with the home devices through your Smartphone.

Appliances like refrigerators, air conditioners, or washing machine can be controlled through HomeChat app on one’s mobile devices. Line is an expert messaging company who devised interesting communicating services beyond human to human communications and LG found them apt for communicating with the devices. Probably, you will be able to query your fridge about the current status in terms of temperature etc. and it would text you back immediately. That brings an interesting proposition about asking the fridge about the status and stock of the items stored in the fridge when you are shopping in a grocery store. Similarly, ask your  vacuum cleaner to start cleaning at a scheduled time or set washing cycle and preferred modes on a washing machine using the HomeChat app.

Samsung is another major player in this particular field. Samsung is planning a common platform which gives you the ability to control and communicate with all the smart devices in your home. It even plans to roll out the product during the first half of 2014.

Samsung’s plan is to do this in three parts, Device Control, Home View, and Smart Customer Service. Device Control will set up the various behavior profiles of the devices depending on if you”re at home or away. The major catch is that Samsung will support its own products in the first go which is a big marketing ploy. Samsung’s Smart Home software protocol is supposed to support other company products at a future date.

smart home

The Home View feature will let you have a look at your home when you”re away through cameras built in to your appliances. The Smart Customer Service will subject your devices to pre-emptive maintenance so that reliability is never compromised.

In the meantime, Apple, the other giant has been awarded a patent, which enables Apple to determine your locations based on the usage and proximity to other devices. This is called “System and method of determining the location of wireless communication devices/persons for controlling/adjusting operation of devices based on the location”. Again, the major aim is to set the behavior profile of the devices/ equipment based on your whereabouts.  The immediate usage is to turn-on the security system when you are out or turn on the lights when you are in. Interestingly, it makes the home into different zones and assigns the zonal behavior profiles depending on your proximity. This system will be sophisticated enough to hold multiple human/ pet profiles and assigning the zonal or individual equipment behaviors in different ways.

So, we are in an interesting phase. All we can do is to sit back and watch who can bring out your dream home automation system truing your home into a true smart home. We all know that Compatibility and interoperability of equipment from multiple vendors will be the fey factor which will determine the outcome of this game.