If it seems like smart home technology has really taken off in popularity, this is correct. A Nielsen MediaTech Trender survey has found that of the homes in the United States that have a smart speaker like Amazon Echo or Google Home, four out of 10 homeowners have more than one of these devices in the house. In addition, 62 percent of these smart speaker owners started using the innovative device within the last six months, and almost half of the people surveyed saying they plan to purchase more of these devices.
While these statistics clearly paint a picture of how popular smart speakers are, there are a number of other types of smart home technology that people are putting in their homes. Everything from thermostats and refrigerators to coffee makers and more are growing in popularity.
As for what the future of this smart home technology looks like, let’s bring out our crystal balls for awhile and make some interesting and intriguing predictions.
Home Technology Will Be Integrated Even More Into Our Lives
As Smarthome notes, although the ability to ask Alexa to order a pizza is pretty cool, home technology will one day be more integrated and connected into the entire home. For instance, imagine a home where your home will remind you if you left a door unlocked or open — no more driving around the block to see if you forgot to close the garage door — and if the lights are on, the fridge door is open and more.
Security Cameras Will Continue to Evolve
When you think about home security camera systems, we have already come a really long way. Gone are the bulky cameras that took blurry footage in shades of gray. Thanks to security camera systems like the Nocturnal line from Lorex, you can now install sleek and stylish cameras that not only capture clear footage during the day, the cameras can also peer into the dark to record what is going on at night. Using Color Night Vision technology, these cameras are able to capture more details than ever before, like the color of a person’s clothes, hair and car — all important details if he or she turns out to be an unwanted visitor on your property. As for what is on the horizon in security cameras, only time will tell; while the Nocturnal cameras already do a great job with their night vision technology, in the future perhaps the devices will be able to “see” even farther into the distance, and as they shrink in size, they may become easier to tuck into places that burglars cannot see.
Walls May Provide Needed Light
In the future, light fixtures and bulbs may become extinct, in lieu of walls that light up from within. As Best Life predicts, you may be able to touch the wall where you want light or use a remote to add light to a room. This advanced technology will also eliminate the need to create space for lamps, fixtures and other ways to keep our homes brightly lit. As an interesting side note to this, if we end up relying on our walls for light, we may see a reduction in switches on the walls; the aforementioned smart speakers are already contributing to this future trend. After all, if we can ask Alexa to turn off the light in the dining room, we already have lost our need to touch a light switch.
Homes Will Be Smarter Than Ever
Whether these predictions end up coming true remains to be seen, but based on how far we have come with smart home technology, they could all definitely happen. As for what else will happen as our homes become smarter than ever, we will have to wait and see.
I am interested in all things technology, especially automation, robotics and tech that helps change how society will live in the future.