Onzo

There’s a lot of unrealistic talk about ‘automated homes’.  It just isn’t likely that we’ll all decide to automate our homes, particularly if it involves spending lots of money.  What’s more likely is that it will take years and we won’t notice most of it.

Let’s look at the car.  There are up to 200 sensors in a modern car.  Some are no doubt obvious to you.  Like parking sensors.  Some may be less obvious.  There are acceleration sensors that trigger airbags in a collision.  Not many people know that there is a crankshaft sensor on a 1992 Chevvy Cavalier, let alone where it is.

It’s taken 125 years to get the BMW 7 series Driver Assistance Package. Blind-spot detection uses radar sensors and gives audible alerts when objects approach in blind spots, and a triangular warning light also appears in the rearview mirror. A lane departure warning will vibrate the steering wheel if you cross a road marking without signaling. And with the new High Beam Assist, the 7 Series switches automatically between low and high beams.

Anyway, back to homes.  Which aren’t like cars because the replacement cycle is a lot longer.  I don’t think control will come first.  Sensors will come first and they will proliferate in everyday objects doing particular tasks.  Over time more of these sensors will report centrally and be combined into things that the homeowner will value.  In the meantime, there will be a devoted cadre who like to open the curtains while they lie in bed, call the oven to turn it on ten minutes before they get home, and let the fridge do the shopping for them.