| |9 November 2019HIGHERReview· High installation costs· It could only be controlled when you are inside the houseThere was a strong need for smart home systems that were wireless, more flexible, and most importantly, af-fordable. That is how the present smart home systems came into existence. Current ScenarioWireless smart home automation and IoT devices have made our daily lives much simpler, better, and more comfortable since the devices no longer need to be wired together.Internet of Things (IoT) is at the very core of the pre-sent smart home technology. An IoT device is any elec-tronic device that can connect to the internet. One IoT device can also connect to multiple other IoT devices with the internet working as a bridge between them.The biggest advantage of IoT is that it can be readily connected anywhere as long as there is an internet connection.Every second, 127 new IoT devices are connected to the internet. As the popularity of IoT devices grows, it is expected that by 2020 the global IoT market will be worth 457 billion.Virtual assistants are also now deeply embedded in smart homes, even though they were first introduced in laptops and smartphones. These virtual assistants take voice commands and then they can connect and control IoT de-vices in the entire house.With virtual assistants, you don't even need to get up and fumble with an app, you can just command them to do whatever needs to be done. Popular virtual assistants in the market include Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri, and Google Assistant. They can be integrated with multiple platforms including smart speakers, smart phones, home appliances, messaging platforms, cars, and wearable devices.Future of Smart HomesWhen we look at the smart home technology of the future, we can expect to see new ways to communicate with the devices and technologies that will provide cross-platform support along with complex decision making solutions.- Gesture ControlsWhile voice commands aren't going anywhere, the fu-ture of smart homes is expected to be more hush and qui-eter with gesture-based controls. With advanced sensors, gesture controls will lead us into a digital reality where we don't have to scream at a machine anymore.Gaming devices like Xbox and Kinect have already been using gesture control for years, but we will require more advanced hardware for gestures to be easily identi-fied by smart home systems. With the required technol-ogy in place, you will be able to control specific smart home devices around the house through gestures.- Better Role for Artificial IntelligenceIn the future, with more advanced AI, future smart home devices will automatically be able to predict your actions and perform tasks even before you ask them to. For instance, with the right AI integration, security and surveillance systems will be able to notify users of pos-sible threats even before an intruder lands inside their property. The smart home system will also be able to take control by proactively alerting the required users and authorities.- Closely Integrating Smart Home DevicesIn the future, it is expected that smart home devices will be even more closely integrated and flexible. There will be solutions developed with cross-platform compat-ibility that are not restricted to a single platform. People will be able to customize their smart homes in any way that they want, based on their requirements and budget.In ConclusionMore than anything, smart homes can give users the con-trol and ease of access they need to handle everyday home activities like turning on the light or the air purifier. There are already more connected devices than people in this world, and this number is constantly growing. In the fu-ture, smart homes are expected to become an irreplace-able part of the home infrastructure and they will only become more advanced and intuitive. A smart home is a home where different device, systems, and items are connected to each other and to a central network
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