The World around us is changing at a speed which is never seen before. Countless levels of data are collected through innovative technologies like ambient light sensors, GPS, motion coprocessors, gyrometers, application analytics and more. Today consumers are connecting their physical bodies with electronic devices such as Fitbit and other health monitors. Also, there is increase in number of “smart” homes equipped with air conditioning, connected lights, and various internet connected refrigerators.
Let us have a look on various smart devices and appliances and wearables which are changing the meaning of lifestyle we are following:
A- Home Automation
Discover all the potential ways which can help you in keeping your home safe just through a flick of your wrist.
1- Connected Air Conditioning
In last few years among the smartest devices, connected A/Cs have grown very mature. Imagine instead of looking for your iPhone in your bag, you are simply passing voice command through your wearable which is, of course, a safe and easy option. Some pioneers in this domain like GE’s Quirky Aros and Sensibo develops an interface that accommodates “driving home” scenario and other features like controlling the temperature of AC for a pet or turning off A/C once you are out of the home.
2- Netgear Monitoring Devices
Netgear offers its consumers a Wi-Fi-ready home monitoring and automation device which adds the convenience of working through Netgear router. This enables everlasting connection and the touch panel display is a great organizer for monitoring home.
3- AT&T’s Home Automation Appliances
AT&T offers it users with its current offerings of home security. It is worth sharing that AT&T has its connected faucet technology (in tandem with “Water Cop”) which enables switching off water flow whenever there is leakage is detected. AT&T has its most comprehensive appliances which comprise of a camera, garage and thermostat control.
4- Lowe’s Iris Home Monitoring
Iris Home Monitoring appliances are another brand name which has showcased wonders in the world of consumers. Iris monitoring system is a great monitoring system for your home. It offers lowered energy bills. Iris got its underlying platform from AlertMe. An interesting feature of all devices of Iris – lights, locks, garage, is that they can be controlled by voice. With voice compatibility, most of the amazing Iris watch app would coordinate home monitoring, adjustment and voice control from your wrist.
5- Qualcomm’s Connected Home
We have another big brand Qualcomm which offers “Connected Homes”. Connected Homes are well coordinated with Wi-Fi devices which include video games, systems, laptops and cars and not only those which are linked to energy usage and security. There is another interesting device from Qualcomm which is “Smart Gateway”, a smart home hub. It is a unified application and device control platform but in future, there could be a chance that your home will be like “think like you” by simply adjusting with your habits and anticipating what’s next. Qualcomm also lay emphasis on learning. Instead of offering control in hands of those with devices and environment, give controls to users’ preferences. In such scenarios, wearables prove important not as a way to control but as a way of gathering data like blood pressure, temperature, pulse which in turn changes the surroundings.
6- Nest & Dropcam
Dropcam is a Wi-Fi-enabled HD spy camera which streams video to various devices. Nest is a company that sells a self-programming thermostat, connected smoke and CO3 (Carbon Monoxide) alarms, and switches. They can all be controlled via apps. Nest works in tandem with Dropcam during emergencies (fire, CO3, break-in), by automatically recording video footage from your Dropcam and then storing the same safely in Cloud.
For now, Nest doesn’t show any signs of adapting to a smartwatch interface, simple interactions, like thermostat adjustments, turning on and off the lights which may be best suited for wearables. But yes, Dropcam will be evolving. It will be innovating with a watchkit platform with time when you can actually give a glance is your baby awake? What all is happening at your home and much more. It would be so exciting, imagine dad viewing live streaming of daughter’s soccer game at Brasil.
B- Single-Action Based Automated Devices
You actually need not be at home to cook a meal. Future is already exhibiting its brighter side where you literally can cook, clean, wash laundry even if you are far. Let us see the wonders which single-action based automated devices are doing.
1- Smart TVs
Vizio, Apple, Samsung have brought Smart TVs for its consumers which comprise of integrated apps which can control channel you are watching, control the sound and even can control what you want to record. So smartness of smart TVs can be of real benefit. Suddenly your TV turns on full blast in the next room while you are on phone call, using a voice command you can instantly turn down the sound using a wearable app. There will be a time when TV and other visual media will be ideal in proving grounds for emerging wearables. HTC ReVive, Sony’s Project Morpheus, Microsoft HoloLens, and Facebook’s Oculus Rift are approaching at great speed.
2- Smart Washing
Whirlpool washing machine simply fit in the trend and therefore will not bug users with so many alerts and reminders as it revolves around a fairly straightforward task. Now easy multi-tasking with Whirlpool washing machine. Spend time in a superstore while the loads are getting washed by just touch on your wrist.
3- LG’s Hom-Bot
iRobot Roomba is a classic LG’s Hom-Bot which comes with two cameras. These cameras can be accessed and controlled via text messages and an app so that vacuum can double as a security drone. The idea of cameras via a wearable gives the diversified possibility of connected home.
4- Belkin’s Crock-Pot
Belkin has also released its first device-controllable cookware. Users can operate it via a WeMo iOS or Android smartphone application, but this may prove another amazing innovation if developed on the Apple watchkit platform Belkin’s crock pot allow users to adjust settings, change cooking time, adjusting cooking temperature, receive reminders and checking status of your dish, therefore, ensuring that dish is perfectly cooked or not.
C- The Amazon range – Connected Devices And Wearables
Officially Amazon-branded devices Alexa is on board. Let us see what miracles the devices are going to create.
1- Amazon Echo
Getting Alexa into your life is the best way of bringing musical soul to your life. Echo- beauty personified, is a fairly decent speaker. Alexa grabs its music from Prime but it also plugs into services like iHeartRadio, TuneIn, Pandora or reads your audio books from Audible.
2- Amazon Echo Dot
Functionally and technically similar to Echo, e Dot is a scaled-down, The second version of Dot is a bit smaller and with few other designs changes. It can be simply understood, that more the smart devices around your house, the more useful the Dot becomes and more Dots you have the more connected your home is.
3- Amazon Tap
Amazon Tap, which is a cordless speaker allows you to take it wherever you want. Take Amazon Tap wherever you want. Tap gives you access to Alexa on the go with nine-hour battery life. Of course, you will need a Wi-Fi connection to tap into Alexa’s skills.
4- Third-party Alexa Speakers
There is an ever-growing army of third party Alexa speakers.Let us know few among them:
- a: Lenovo Smart Assistant – Alexa powered Lenovo’s speaker, announced at CES 2017, comes in pick up voice commands from up to 5m away. Inside there is an Intel Atom processor and the mic is slightly raised for cooling purpose.
- b: Triby – Triby IO takes smart home controls beyond just Alexa. Using IFTTT you will be able to automate actions, hence you won’t be relying much on your smartphone or tablet. Triby IO takes back from where original Triby left off which is VoIP call, stereo sound, an E Ink display but also adds a new smart home management interface into the mix.
5- Smartwatches
There are few wearable Alexa options.Let’s have a look:
- a: Martian/Guess – Martian announced adding Alexa to its mVoice and Guess Connect watches in last December. These timepieces already allowed for vocal commands, but by bringing Amazon’s personal assistant on board user get to access thousands of Alexa’s skills. Moreover, these are compatible with legacy Passport, Victory and G2G models and all other new mVoice devices.
- b: Omate Rise – Omate after being successfully funded on Indiegogo announced a limited edition Rise in August 2016 with Alexa. To unleash the power of Rise watch you need not have Wi-Fi paired with your phone as it is 3G enabled. Do the walkie-talkie style, press, hold, talk and release to kick start Alexa.
- c: CoWatch – Along with Alexa, CoWatch holds an interesting feature Cronologics OS. It is fully-fledged Android-based smartwatch operating system and Google just acquired the company. The interesting thing about the CoWatch – apart from its Alexa skillset – is that it runs Cronologics OS, a fully fledged Android-based smartwatch operating system. And Google just acquired the company behind it.
- d: Miscellaneous Devices – Few devices with Alexa built in are Ford cars. Amazon’s AI bot will be built into Ford SYNC 3 AppLink which explains that you can easily control your house from your car and your car from your house. Therefore, you can get the ignition running in your car which you are finishing your breakfast in the kitchen. Similarly, while you are driving back home you can tell Alexa to get your lights on asking your robotic vacuum cleaner up and running. Smart lamp from GE is great at looks. A smart lamp has an always-on microphone for voice commands for accessing the internet, controlling itself and other smart home gadgets. Alexa is squatting inside new connected fridges of LG. Alexa here plays a very interesting role, whereby it tells when your fridge is running short of butter, cheese or veggies. Apart from this interesting feature Alexa, it is pretty techie-tastic. You will get 29-inch LCD touchscreen and 2.0 megapixel super wide lens camera which captures images of the interior.
D- In Precise
Amazon has been doing machine learning for understanding what our customers want for a long time. One can easily imagine an instance where instead of having to ask for Uber or Lyft, Alexa anticipates what actually you are looking for. It can be easily understood that it is a kind of predictive intelligence which large companies are trying to get right.
People at every level – from marketers, developers, users, CEOs are looking and thinking of new range of opportunities that wearable devices give its users and rethinking the scope of these devices.
References: mirror.co.uk, cnet.com, gartner.com, dtelepathy.com, theverge.com, marketingland.com, wareable.com
Rachit Agarwal
