As CES 2018 comes to a close, it’s the perfect time to take a look at what was unveiled the smart home space. CES is always the best place to get a hint of what’s to come. There’s no better way to get a clear look at the ideas established companies and startups alike are willing to bet their futures on.
Here are two interesting picks from the more innovative end of the smart home and general Internet of Things (IoT) technology race, that provide tantalizing hints at what the future of the average home might look like in the very near future:
- Homni Smart Sleep Solution steers smart home innovation towards the bedroom. Terrallion’s Dot sensor affixes to the sleeper’s pillow, tracking the sleeper’s movement and passing the data along to an app. The Dot works in conjunction with a programmable lamp with a color-changing, almost lava lamp-esque light designed to help maintain sleep rhythms. And the system also tracks external conditions, matching humidity and other weather factors with the level of sleep disturbances tracked by the Dot. It’s an elegant solution for helping people sleep that’s easy to see in some form in millions of homes in the future.
- Kevin Smart Speaker leverages IoT tech in an interesting way that separates it from the massive wave of competition in the home assistant space: theft prevention! Since the Kevin, by Mitipi, can have full networked access to your home’s basic functions from lights to sounds, it leverages that as a low-cost security feature. When you set it to “away” mode, it makes sounds that come off as the natural day-to-day activities of a family at home, from listening to music to taking a shower. And it schedules lights to flick on and off, adding to the overall effect. It’s a great way to gain a little extra peace of mind for those without a more traditional security system, as well as a fantastic additional feature for those who already have that kind of setup.
These are thought-provoking directions for home technology to take, the kinds of ideas that may seem “out there” at a glance but, with just a little thought, quickly seem like elegantly simple solutions. These, and many more new home assistant and IoT ideas were on display at CES 2018, solidifying the increasingly prominent feeling that homes with integrated smart technology will soon be how most homes are.
