While the IoT (Internet of Things) has developed a lot of interesting and increasingly useful applications, it’s still far from its full potential. People are surrounded by more and more devices which collect data for use in specific ways, but relevant collation and seamless use of this information is still lacking. This is where Neura steps in.
Neura is an AI developer founded in 2012 which is applying their machine learning skills to the data gathered from individual’s smart devices in order to offer people a “user-centric” experience. The idea is to gather all of the data from all of a user’s smart devices in order to learn as much about their daily life as possible. Once Neura understands how someone lives, it can tailor the responses of their smart devices to fit them perfectly, offering reminders for workouts and medications at the perfect times, turning down the lights in the hour before sleep or preparing user’s preferred climate control before they’re likely to arrive. Basically bringing in an AI coordinator to orchestrate the world of devices users have surrounded themselves with.
In the grand scheme of things, having the ability to change your lights from your phone isn’t much more than a gimmick. When the lights are just one part of a system, though, turning dusky orange after a first date or gradually brightening around the time when you normally wake up without any direct input from you, that’s starting to get pretty intelligent. This type of application has the potential to really put the “smart” in smart home, and as smart devices continue to proliferate, the power of apps like Neura will only grow and grow.
Of course, if you smell a hint of potential dystopia on the horizon, you wouldn’t be alone. Neura isn’t open about all of the data it collects or how it’s shared, but with enough demand from consumers, other apps certainly will.
