Come home to IoT

Radhika Sharma

There is an old saying: Home is where the heart is. In today’s digital world, it has been revised to: “Home is where the innovation is!” The rapid technological innovation in IoT has had the biggest impact on our homes. Not only are they more connected than ever, they are also presenting unique opportunities in the delivery space without compromising the security. The home is seeing tech revamp in almost all aspects — food, temperature, lighting, lock security, control and more. Here are some IoT examples that have taken the average home to the next level.

Stay Connected 

IoT devices have been around for quite some time now and while you may have smart lights, a smart microwave and a smart fridge, can you control all of them centrally? Well, for now, so many remotes lying around take such an effort to control them seamlessly. Control Any’s BEAK is a product that lets you operate all your smart devices with the help of an easy app. It is third-party friendly and supports all major brands. It also has the capability to learn and execute “schedules” daily consisting of combinations of these devices. For example, it will switch on the AC in the evening and even change to mood lighting.

Temperature control 

A thermostat that learns every single day, the Nest can set the right temperature at optimum capacity and save electricity in the process. It can be controlled via a mobile or smartwatch app, your laptop or even your desktop. It finds the ideal interior temperature for your home and even turns itself off when you are on vacation. It collates data from different seasons during the year and learns from it. Its sensors continuously learn your habits and preferences so that you can have it nice and cozy at night and warm and sunny in the morning.

Delivery inside your living room 

Of the latest services to hit the IoT-home combo is Amazon Key. Available only in select cities in the USA for now, it enables on-time delivery of its products even when the customer isn’t home. With its Key-In-Home Kit consisting of a CCTV type camera connected to the cloud, it shows the customer live footage of delivery personnel entering the house and leaving the parcel inside your home. Its authorisation protocol can be used for a variety of services such as letting in family friends, the dog walker or even the house securely. Available for Prime customers, it sends notifications every time the door is unlocked. 

For a constant air flow

Just like the thermostat, air conditioning has also come under the smart innovation radar. The latest is Keen Zone, which controls air flow throughout your home and maintains different room temperatures in individual rooms. The app operates the system that is a combination of vents, sensors and a Smart Bridge. It keeps your temperature on a schedule. Even if it’s snowing outside, you’ll feel summery inside your house.

Self-driving cooler

The humble cooler just got a tech facelift, courtesy car giant Honda. It recently premiered at the Tokyo Motor show. Called RoboCas, it is a self-driving cooler with huge LED eyes that follow you everywhere and keeps the drinks cold too. Honda imagines that people will want to use this on their vacations, house parties and cafes because of its mobility and wow factor. Imagine this cooler walking up to you with your favourite drinks already input in its system! The future is right there!