@ YOUR SERVICE
FROM LOCKING YOUR HOME WHEN YOU STEP OUT TO RESTOCKING YOUR REFRIGERATOR, THERE’S NO END TO WHAT SMART ASSISTANTS CAN DO IN THE FUTURE.
Going by the influx of smart devices, we may never have to lift a finger again. Smart speakers from Amazon, Google and Apple are just the tip of the iceberg as far as smart assistants are concerned. The possibilities are endless when there is a connected ecosystem where devices can communicate amongst each other and respond to your commands – from brewing your morning coffee to turning on the shower for your post work-out bath. Flamboyantly speaking, you can have your own Jarvis à la Iron Man.
From controlling home appliances from within apps (the Internet of Things), we can now directly talk to them. With the increasing adoption of smart speakers, device manufacturers are embedding support for popular voice assistants, simplifying almost everything we do. Voice-controlled lighting and thermostats are passé; a smart home is incomplete without a smart kitchen and a smart bathroom.
Kitchen and bath products company Kohler has launched Kohler Konnect – a range of voice-enabled showers, faucets, mirrors, bathtubs and toilets that support Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit and Google Assistant. You can fill the bathtub for a soak,
turn on the foot warmer, flush the toilet or personalise your shower with a simple voice command.
Moen, a US-based kitchen and bathroom fixtures manufacturer, is transforming shower experiences with U by Moen, which is Alexa compatible. You can start the shower at the desired temperature from anywhere in the house. Kohler’s Sensate faucet brings the virtual assistant to the kitchen. The voicecontrolled faucet can pour just the amount of water you need in the pot. Samsung’s Family Hub refrigerators have Bixby (Samsung’s own voice assistant) integrated in them; you can know the contents of the refrigerator without actually opening it.
In its new InstaView ThinQ smart refrigerator, LG, too, offers a few kitchen tricks with Amazon Alexa integration. You can get reminders about when the food is about to go bad and also add stuff to your Amazon shopping cart. What’s even cooler is that you can select the food item and recipe on the refrigerator itself and the ThinQ ecosystem communicates the same to the LG smart oven, which, in turn, begins the preheating process.
The company has also designed a small robot, CLOi, for home that connects to smart products and responds to voice. From turning on the washing machine to cleaning the house as you step out, these cute-looking robots can manage homes well. LG, Sony and Hisense are working on television sets with built-in voice assistants that will