All About Ease
Australians are switching on to home-automation technology at a record pace, making life smoother with each new device, writes
Switch on to the latest home-automation technology.
Whether you’re aware of it or not, we’ve reached a tipping point when it comes to technology in our homes. Today, 40 per cent of Australian homes have at least one Internet of Things (IoT) device, up from 29 per cent in 2016. That’s a massive leap forward and there’s no sign of the pace slowing, says Foad Fadaghi, managing director of Telsyte, Australia’s leading emerging-technology consultancy.
“IoT devices are smart, internet-enabled appliances that allow homeowners to control, monitor and enhance their lifestyles,” says Fadaghi. “We estimate that the average Australian household has 13 internet-enabled devices now; this figure will balloon to 30 by 2021, with 14 of those being home-automation devices.”
Ever stopped to count the number of phones, tablets, laptops, smart TVs, game consoles, smart meters, security systems and wearable technology devices at your place? You might also have garage doors, blinds or awnings that adjust when sensors tell them to, airconditioning that switches off when no one has been detected in the room for 20 minutes, and a watering system in the garden that switches on the sprinklers when it hasn’t rained. “Much of this sort of technology has been around for a while,” says Fadaghi. “But what we’re seeing now are automation devices that are intuitive and proactive as well as useful.”
Automation systems such as Telstra
Smart Home are now being included as standard when homeowners renovate, affording them the means to do things such as control the lights from afar, switch the iron off from anywhere using smart power plugs, or check that the kids have let themselves in safely after school.
In 2017 we saw the release of Google Home, a voice-operated ‘virtual assistant’. You can ask it what the weather is going to be, or tell it to turn on Netflix, your favourite Spotify playlist or bedside light. Such technology is in its infancy, but it’s set to become the ‘glue’ that keeps a household running smoothly, says Mick Boman, national product and marketing manager for connected devices at Harvey Norman.
“Every day, more brands are partnering with Google Home, and the possibilities are exciting,” says Boman. “Australia is a nation of early adopters, so I think we’ll see a huge spike in sales of Google Home, particularly when brands such as Panasonic, Philips and Samsung roll out voice-activation functionality in their kitchen appliances.”
A few things need to happen for IoT to go gangbusters, though. One is good, fast and reliable internet access. Another is the rise of strong ‘middleware’ providers who make everything work together so your virtual assistant ‘talks’ to your Samsung smart fridge, your Siemens oven and your Tesla
solar-storage battery. “No one has forged their place as the dominant player in this space,” he says. “It could be a huge opportunity for a tech giant such as Amazon or Google, or a new, smaller name may get there first. We’ll soon see.”
Perhaps the biggest potential roadblock is that homeowners need to trust IoT devices. Telsyte’s most recent data shows that almost half of the Australians surveyed are concerned about cyber security and privacy. These concerns are valid, especially in light of recent news reports that your smart TV is capable of ‘spying’ on you.
“The challenge for providers is to take households on the automation journey while handling their privacy and security with the utmost care,” adds Fadaghi.
If you can overcome these hurdles, technology for the home offers all sorts of exciting possibilities. Earlier this year, Samsung released its new ‘The Frame’ smart television, which sits flush on the wall and disguises itself as an artwork when you’re not watching. (It also turns off when no one’s in the room, and can even detect ambient light and adjust its own display settings.)
At US tech-trade showcase CES 2017, appliance brand Whirlpool unveiled its prototype interactive kitchen, where the splashback is far more than a mere surface. It’s effectively a screen that can read the barcode of anything you place on your bench and suggest recipes you could make with it (which are then displayed on the splashback). It can preheat the oven or cooktop accordingly, alert you when it’s time to stir, then let you know when your meal is perfectly cooked. If synced with your phone’s calendar, it can alert you five minutes before the school bus arrives and scan the contents of your fridge, before suggesting you pack those strawberries and the leftover macaroni cheese in your child’s lunchbox.
“This kind of functionality is being developed now and all the leading appliance manufacturers have a stake in the game,” says Fadaghi. “They want to get to the next level of connectivity because it allows them to provide customers with value-added services around the products they have sold, and to recommend other things they might also like to buy.”
Every room in the home has some form of automation potential. Thermostatic mixers can now set your shower at the perfect temperature, volume and spray feel and save water in the process. Smart toilets are here, too. Duravit’s ‘Bio Tracer’ was unveiled at this year’s ISH bathroom fair in Germany; it will analyse your urine and alert you via an app if there’s a deficiency or problem.
You can check the water quality and temperature of your pool via the Pooled Energy app before the kids jump in, lock up your garden shed via a PIN on your smartphone, and invest in an AH Beard ‘Sleepsense’ bed that allows you to adjust its firmness via an app, which also sends your sleep data to your phone every morning.
Which begs the question: how much tech is too much? As smart-home technology moves in, are we going to see tech-free ‘retreats’ being built into homes?
“That depends on your age,” says Fadaghi. “If you can remember a time before the internet, sure, you might want a space where you can unplug. If you’re a digital native, you probably won’t and might feel pretty unsettled at the thought.”
As technology proves its usefulness, safety and labour-saving benefits, you might find IoT taking residence in your home before you know it. And, in much the same way as smartphones rapidly became central to our very existence, you may even wonder how you ever lived without it, adds Fadaghi. “The success of these devices will be in their ability to create a sense of delight.”
‘Much of this sort of technology has been around for a while, but what we’re seeing now are automation devices that are intuitive and proactive as well as useful.’ Foad Fadaghi, Telsyte