The American home is starting to get shaped by consumer electronics. All sorts of equipment surround us in our homes, and this equipment is starting to affect our lives. Similar to the way electricity changed the life of the people in the early 20th century by paving the way for appliances such as washing machines and dishwashers, the introduction of affordable IoT powered products to the masses is starting to reshape the lives of millions.
Sophisticated home automation is no longer a thing only available for the rich – you no longer need an expensive smart home consultant if you want to make your home a smart one. Consumer electronics companies are flooding the market with gadgets that are meant to ease our lives. Technology is helping us raise our children, socialize, get entertained, and be more productive.
Technology and children
While consumer electronics products have always been able to entertain the little ones as they grow, the gadgets that started appearing on the market over the last couple years have been helping babies too.
Since the day babies are born, technology can help them sleep better and have stress-free first months in the new world. You no longer have to go through books with expert sleep strategies for babies and spend hours rocking your baby to sleep, you can just use one of those smart bassinets that do it for you while you focus on recovering from the exhausting pregnancy.
Online communications
Like it or not, smartphones are undoubtedly changing the way we communicate. While it may not feel as personal as real communication, social media platforms such as Facebook are helping billions of people stay connected.
Without Facebook, there would be billions of missed birthday congratulations! Social media also allows people to peek into the lives of others and is changing the way people communicate not only at home but at work and school too. It is hard to find a working person, or a student, who is not somehow included in a work or education related group chat.
Entertainment
Consumer electronics devices can keep you entertained. When the gaming industry initially appeared people thought that video games are just for children. Well, those children are adults now, and they still want to be entertained. Gaming consoles are in place to entertain not only your children but yourself too. There are games for every taste.
Watching movies has never been more comfortable too, you no longer have to keep your fingers crossed on your way to the movie-rental place hoping the film you want to watch tonight is available, now almost all the content in the world is just a few clicks away from you.
Security
Trackable smartwatches allow you to keep an eye on your little ones by always knowing their location, and video cameras installed around your house help you keep an eye on what is going on outside. You no longer have to go downstairs if you hear squeaking, all you have to do is open the app on your phone and see live camera feed on your kitchen or living room.
Face recognition locks have arrived too; some smart homes do not even have key locks – all you have to do is show up your face, and the door will unlock itself. Say bye to that nervous pocket key searching while both your hands are busy!
Appliances
Whether you want to start the washing machine couple hours before you leave work, or you want to set up the room temperature in your house at comfortable 76 degrees, or make sure the oven is pre-heated and waiting for you to throw that frozen pizza in, appliance control from smart devices is shaping the way we live. Voice recognition technology advances sometimes allow you to perform such activities hands-free while you drive. You no longer even have to remember if you have butter left in the fridge, you just have to take a sneak peek at your fridge live camera feed.
Undoubtedly the future has arrived, many of the things that we were dreaming about twenty years ago are now easily accessible. Almost every room on your home now has a high-tech environment. However, there is more to come – sometimes things are more complicated than they are supposed to so simplifying the processes can ease people’s lives.
Voice control is currently giving the humanity real freedom where you no longer will have to deal with complicated remote controls who ran out of battery, or looking for that white noise app on your phone while trying to put a baby to sleep. IoT brings a lot of positives but it could sometimes be dangerous too, protecting all your connected devices at home is a must.
In order to be prepared for the risks that the IoT could bring us, we must remember that it is essential to add a security layer that monitors our devices, but also all our connections to the Internet, in order to minimise these threats.
