It has long been science fiction, but tech giants hope the “smart home,” where gadgets talk to each other and the fridge orders milk, will soon become reality.
The futuristic vision of wireless domestic bliss that puts people and their smartphones or tablets at the center of an “Internet of Things” is a key theme at this year’s IFA consumer electronics fair in Berlin.
The smart home is heading “towards a mass-market reality,” market research firm IHS’ Lisa Arrowsmith said.
The new driving force is “the rise of the smartphone and its role as a common user interface to allow remote and in-home control of devices such as thermostats, smart plugs or security systems,” Arrowsmith said.
Talk of creating the “automated home” has been around since at least the 1980s, but was hobbled by technical hurdles, from tangled cables to costly interfaces and compatibility problems between appliance manufacturers.
Now the dream is back with a vengeance as companies foresee a world of synced devices, where motorists remotely switch on the heating as they drive home and holidaymakers watch over their houses from the beach with security camera footage.
At the IFA, Samsung Electronics Co presented its vision of the “house of the future,” replete with a hologram chef who gives step-by-step cooking instructions and digital sports coaches that keep an eye on your workout.
“For many, it’s still just a vision, but change is coming and it’s coming fast,” Samsung co-CEO Yoon Boo-keun said. “Just remember how quickly, in just a few years, smartphones and tablets have changed our lives.”
Last year, about 17 million home automation devices were sold, according to analysts at ABI Research, which predicts their number will top half a billion units by 2018. Big industry players such as Microsoft Corp and Apple Inc are now battling to establish the dominant platform for the intelligent home.
However, electronics makers must still overcome consumer skepticism over privacy concerns and data protection, and convince people to part ways with their existing toaster and dishwasher to embrace a life of greater connectivity.
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