Move over, smartphones, it's the age of the smart home
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Move over, smartphones, it's the age of the smart home

Something out of a sci-fi movie? Nah. Smart homes are the future, and the future is here!

Move over, smartphones, it's the age of the smart home

With smart homes being the talk of the town and experts predicting their raging popularity in the near future, we thought of exploring the smart-home scene for those of you who might be interested. The once-niche international smart-home market has gone mainstream. It's only a matter of time before India is flooded with this latest technology.

The best part? If you have a smartphone, you can have a smart home too.

What is a smart home?

Let me skip the boring definitions and give you some examples to help you understand the concept.

Imagine lights switching on the moment you enter a room and dimming when you step out; your favourite songs follow you as you walk around the house, as will whatever you're watching on television! Unbelievable, eh? This is exactly what it’s like inside Microsoft chairman Bill Gates’ Seattle house, one of the most famous smart homes to date.

Speaking of Bill Gates, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently designed an artificially intelligent, voice-controlled assistant for his home — and dubbed it Jarvis, based on a similar assistant that the comic book character Iron Man keeps chatting with.

Here’s what Jarvis is capable of: He (Jarvis is so smart, not referring to him as "he" would be a sacrilege) controls all the main appliances, such as lights, air-conditioning, toaster and even doors. Yes, it scans the faces of visitors and lets them in!

 

 

And just like the comic-book Jarvis, it can talk like a human being and crack jokes! (Take that, Siri). Zuckerberg has enabled Jarvis to respond and execute commands through the Facebook Messenger app. Take a look:

 

So how does a smart home work?

Any device that uses electricity, has built-in sensors or electronic controllers to respond to voice commands, remote controls, tablets or smartphones can be used to set up your smart home. Most commonly, applications that control lighting, home security and entertainment make up the basics of a smart home.

These smart electronic appliances are typically accompanied by apps compatible with both Android and iOS. The appliance is designed to receive commands from the app and execute them. 

The Philips Hue, for example, is a smart light that can be dimmed or brightened using the app. Another great smart appliance is the Amazon Echo, which, apart from being a Bluetooth speaker, also works as a digital assistant for your home. It can tell you the weather, set alarms, run an online search and be used to operate other smart devices. 

Sold on the coolness of smart homes yet? "Yes, but it is bound to cost a fortune and I’m not Bill Gates," I hear you thinking.

Well, truth be told, it will not be easy on your pocket. But the good news is that with the smart-home concept going mainstream, one can soon expect affordable solutions in the coming years. 

The Indian smart-home market has seen a surge in smart-home products in the recent past. It will take a while for the phenomenon to reach the average Indian household but as we know from the smart-phone market, advancements in technology can be surprisingly quick, and prices tend to plummet within months of a new product. So keep an eye out for this page, and we will keep you abreast of new developments in this game changer.