RADAR- AND SONAR-POWERED SENSORS WILL HELP KEEP YOU SAFE AND SOUND

Ambient computing relies on data points to understand your needs and that data comes from sensors. The more data the smart home has, the more context it can create, and the smarter it can be. Smaller, cheaper, lower powered, more robust sensors make developing smart home tech easier and more scalable, plus smarter sensors provide more context.

“The big advancements are going to come as we have more data,” says Siminoff. “But if you just give someone a lot of data without any context or without really analysing it for them, then they’re not going to use it, which means that it doesn’t matter.”

But no one wants to install hundreds of sensors or dozens of cameras in their homes, Instead, fewer, smarter sensors will give us a clearer picture of what’s happening in our homes so that we – or the AI powering our home – can react appropriately.

Two somewhat surprising technologies doing this are radar and sonar. Where a single camera or sensor might tell you there is motion in your home in a particular area, radar can show you a ‘picture’ of your whole home in an instant. “Radar is faster,” says Siminoff, whose company Ring just released two new outdoor cameras that use radar-based 3D motion detection. “If I can see my whole property and where everything is in two seconds I can make the right decision, because I have this three-dimensional context,” he adds.

Radar is also being used to see inside the home without actually seeing anything at all. The idea of having internet-connected cameras inside our homes can be unsettling, yet the benefit of being able to check in on a pampered pet or make sure your grandpa is okay is compelling. One company, Vayyar, has developed a camera-free, radar-based 4D-sensing technology that can automatically detect if someone falls and will then call for help. The technology can also use machine learning to analyse a person’s movements and identify unusual patterns over time – such as if someone hasn’t got out of bed or has made more trips to the bathroom than usual, without ever physically watching them.

Sonar is also being used to see inside our home’s infrastructure to identify problems before they become disasters. Krystian Zajac, founder of smart tech start-up Hero Labs, has developed a smart, ultrasonic flow meter with an integrated shut-off valve that will warn you if there’s a leak in your home and can automatically switch off the water.

“Water leaks are the number one cause of property damage in the UK, costing the insurance industry more than fires and theft combined,” he says. The device uses ultrasonic technology to detect low flows and employs machine learning to distinguish between different appliances in your home. This lets it build a virtual picture of what’s happening in your pipes. Other sensors in the device, such as temperature and pressure sensors, add more context to alert you to a potential leak or frozen pipe before it becomes a disaster.

Putting sensors inside infrastructure will be commonplace by 2030, according to Siminoff. “You can easily plot out that in 10 years every single door comes with sensors already installed that tells you if it’s open or closed, or if there’s heat there, which could indicate a fire.”

For example, Masonite, a global door manufacturer, recently developed a power management and connectivity module that can turn a front door into a ‘smart door’. In addition to being pre-wired for smart locks and video doorbells, Masonite’s door will also have built-in motion-activated lighting and a sensor that can track whether it is open or shut. The company also has plans for an interior door that can automatically shut if it senses fire, helping to protect you from smoke inhalation.