Home automation is no longer just for the rich
As a child, I remember going to a museum with a big touchscreen display about dinosaurs. When I told my family I wanted to own a touchscreen one day, they laughed at me and said they were too expensive for anyone ever to have one in their home.
Now, almost everyone has a tiny touchscreen in their pocket at all times.
The interesting thing about technology is it advances so quickly. Some things we can see coming, but other things have taken me by surprise. This year for Christmas, I received an Amazon Echo Dot, a little voiceactivated speaker that answers questions and performs tasks. I had heard about them before, but I figured they would be really complicated to set up and use.
I’ve spent the past couple of weeks talking to this speaker by calling her “Alexa.” This device has exceeded all my expectations.
I knew Alexa could tell me the time, weather, play music and offer up traffic conditions, but other options really surprised me. I can ask her to put things in my calendar, set a timer, make phone calls and (my personal favourite) order items such as laundry soap, all through a simple voice command.
I can honestly say I am more fascinated with this gadget than I was when I bought my first smartphone.
About 10 years ago, I first heard the term “home automation.” I was told it could control the blinds opening and closing at pre-programmed times, the temperature in the home and the lights. Everything could be pre-set and changed at the touch of a button or automated on a timer.
I was a reporter assigned to write a story on it, so I went to some homes and saw how they were set up. I thought it was interesting, but assumed I would never have the option. It seemed like something only the elite would have access to.
When I read that my Echo could control lights, blinds, sound systems and more, it made me realize that now home automation is something easily accessible to a broader group of people.
It has been 10 years since I interviewed Tony Smythe, owner of SmartWorx Solutions Inc. I talked to him to see how home automation has changed since we last spoke.
Homes professionally wired for automation have always been able to change the room temperature, lights and music, and open and close blinds with the touch of a button. Originally, this was through a control panel on a wall or a remote control. Homes still have control panels, but now accessibility has become more advanced with the use of mobile apps and voice activation.
“I really like it for music and that I can tell Alexa to make it a little louder, or a little quieter. In the morning, Alexa turns on our lights and opens the blinds; she can also start the fireplace,” Smythe said.
Smythe has been working in the home-automation industry since 2003, and said the biggest improvement in the technology is voice recognition, found through items such as the Echo.
“It existed before, but it wasn’t as elegant. Years ago, clients would request voice recognition, and we would have to place microphones in the home and then figure out what the voice commands would be,” he said. “Voice activation has really improved; it’s matured with its robustness and speed and capability.”
Smythe can wire a home with a custom system and then incorporate an Amazon Echo or a Google Home to include the voice recognition. He’s quick to point out these devices can also help do-it-yourselfers to automate their homes by adding lightbulbs and speakers with wi-fi sensors and downloading apps for each device.
I’ve heard people speak about privacy concerns and the safety of having a device in the home that is always listening.
I suppose as we get used to these devices, we will be introduced to new ways to protect ourselves.
“I always knew this was the way things were going to go, just like The Jetsons,” Smythe said. “In Star Trek, the little lapel pin communicator has already been far exceeded by our everyday mobile phones. I can’t wait to see what’s next for home automation; how about the replicator? Or maybe the holodeck. Now that would be cool.”