Well, a few years ago the term smart home was likely used as a futuristic concept, which was present only in science fiction movies. However, today the smart home is here, it has become a reality and ready to be even smarter with technologies. Identifying the smart technologies and understanding how to use them is what you can call a smart home.
Today smart homes are at your fingertips, it is no longer exclusive to wealthy people. Also, the average people have begun to adopt the technology inside the homes. However, the year 2020 arrives refreshed and with new ideas in the construction universe. The architectural trend that aims to consolidate the concept of “smart home” or “Smart House” and that seeks to achieve more efficient management of resources, increase comfort and improve the quality of life. A type of home in which your furniture and appliances, in many cases, will be managed through the interface of a phone, tablet or smartwatches.
As the number of Smart home increases, trends in the incorporation of devices to improve people’s lifestyles and provide greater functionalities to homes are also renewed. Here, we have listed down some key trends of what we can expect in 2020.
The transition from intelligence to wisdom
Traditionally, “smart” means that you can adjust the lights with voice commands, or turn on the AC with your smartphone when you come home from work or commute. This ingenuity is great and people love it. But this is only the first step in a larger and more exciting journey. IoT devices are becoming more powerful and intelligent. External dimensions are shrinking. Enhancements in communication protocols are providing greater range and higher energy efficiency, and consumers are adding more connectable devices to their homes. All of this means the possibility to achieve more complex combinations of functions which is really what people expect, and multiple devices can work seamlessly and intelligently.
A simple example is when you sit down with family or friends to watch a movie. Single voice command will turn the TV and set-top box on and ready to show a movie, while the blinds are lowered and the lights are dimmed to create the movie-like atmosphere you want.
Improved user experience
Even if your device is the most powerful smart home product on the market, it is unlikely to succeed if the experience of installing and using it is poor. Today, we see many relevant players in the market doing a lot of things to make the setup and operation of smart home devices as simple as possible. An example is the Z-Wave SmartStart installation system, which enables consumers to add new devices to their network by scanning QR codes.
Increased use of Artificial Intelligence
Increasingly powerful computing capabilities enable smart home device manufacturers to take advantage of machine learning capabilities near the device, rather than all through the cloud.
The benefit of this intelligent migration to the edge is that it reduces latency, creating faster and smarter systems. It will also provide opportunities for enhanced security and privacy by limiting the amount and type of data shared outside the home.
Suppliers help equipment manufacturers focus more on differentiation
Manufacturers of smart home devices have a vision of how to use cutting-edge technology to change the lifestyle. Achieving this vision is the number one priority. That’s why they want to spend more time innovating and differentiating, rather than getting into the details of component integration, wireless certification, and more.
As a result, smart home device manufacturers are increasingly looking for silicon device and software vendors that can provide development tools to standardize the design process across multiple communication protocols. These practical tools can make tedious energy analysis, configuration, and connection optimization work easier, making the job of equipment designers easier. As a result, it leaves more time for innovation and also speeds time to market.
Need for stronger but less impactful security
Without a thorough study of security, it is impossible to talk about smart technology trends and the Internet of Things. As more and more connected devices collect more data, hackers are launching more and more sophisticated attacks, and tech-savvy consumers are becoming more aware of these attacks and the risks, security requirements (from Device to cloud) is growing.
The challenge, of course, is to achieve security without unacceptably affecting battery life, bandwidth, CPU usage, and system cost. To ensure the security of the IoT, a comprehensive, collaborative approach is required, involving the entire ecosystem of silicon device and software vendors, wireless protocol SIGs, device manufacturers, IoT service providers, and cloud companies.
Conclusion
The future cannot be accurately predicted, but according to the current trends and user demand, it is easy to say that the development of smart home and smart devices will increase in 2020, and will be more common and accessible in the coming years.
