The Internet of Things (IOT) and the boost of the smart home tech popularity is one of the most significant tech trends in current times. The huge popularity of the smart hubs with virtual assistants such as Alexa or Google Assistant built in is sparking the beginning of an episode of growth to smart devices market value. Anything and everything is getting connected. Here we will take you through some of the most trending smart devices in 2018 and explain what makes them so “smart”.
Although robot vacuums have been around for quite some years, they are only recently getting Wi-Fi enabled smart capabilities. The premium brand of robot vacuum that largely pioneered the industry is the iRobot Roomba. Their top of the range models, the Roomba 960 and 980 have Smart Mapping & VSLAM technology to create a virtual map of your home. This provides the basis to produce cleaning reports, statistics and take the most efficient cleaning route. Using a camera the Roombas know exactly where everything is and how to go about cleaning. On top of that, these two devices can also return to their charging station and resume cleaning self autonomously from exactly where it left off. Pretty smart if you ask me!
Smart lighting is one of the most thought of applications of smart home tech. Initially smart lighting was all about saving money; low cost LED bulbs and automation provides the basis for lean energy usage. Since then, they have become about entertainment as much as protecting your wallet. The standard 16 million colors provided by brands such as LIFX and Philips Hue provide a new layer of atmosphere to your home entertainment. The most technically impressive asset of smart lighting is the sync mode which coordinates color, pulses and strength of your lights with whatever form of media you use. Whether it be watching a film, playing games or listening to music, you can get more out your home entertainment.
The best smart thermostat is the Nest which is a cut above all competition because of its learning ability. While most can turn rooms into different temperature zones and are programmable, the Nest has a unique learning algorithm that looks at your behaviour and creates the ultimate heating and cooling schedule for you. Whilst smart meters are not considered to be wholly effective, smart thermostats can give you some sizeable savings of up to 15-20% on your energy annually.
Smart security devices account for over half of smart home device sales because they are so effective. You set the motion sensitivity of your detector and then the cameras can identify true threats from real ones. Triggered motion or audio will cause the camera to record snippets of footage. An example of a top smart security camera brand is Arlo. Live push notifications can alert you of when the cameras are triggered and you can see the live feed at any time. If there is someone you can talk to them through a two way audio feature. These cameras are completely wireless and store footage via cloud which is mostly included in a free package, although there are options for those who want more storage and use more cameras. Read this article for a breakdown of the Arlo vs Arlo Pro vs Arlo Pro 2.
Guest article written by: YourSmartHomeGuide
Hi Klaus,
Technology has taken a giant leap for mankind. Things which seemed impossible a few years back now have become reality. We have computers doing all kinds of job and with new research going on, impossible seems nothing.
Thank you for this post. Have a good day. 🙂
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