We’ve come a long way with voice technology and artificial intelligence. Its more than just getting the weather report or playing your favorite music genres. An initial popular gadget was a GPS enabled unit that told drivers where to take the next turn to get to the desired destination (now it’s an app on our smart phones). Now we have cars that can drive us to where we want to go! The ability for voice command Assistants for home automation has also greatly evolved. Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and Hey Google can be on standby, waiting for your command, how much are you utilizing its capabilities at home? From turning on appliances, changing the lighting levels or temperature, even unlocking the front door, it is amazing what can be done with “smart” (WIFI-enabled) appliances.
Climate Control
Is it getting hot, chilly? Smart thermostats can be told to turn on or off, the have the temperature turned up or down. There are also smart ceiling fans to circulate the air. Perhaps the warmth of the sun is welcomed, or not; there are motorized blinds that let as much or as little of the sun’s heat in. And for impressive show, there are voice activated electric fireplaces.
Lighting
In addition to all kinds of types of lights that can be turned on or off by voice command, there are home hubs that can do custom presets of light levels based on your routine or time of day. You can choose a set of lights to come on when you are returning home, for food prep at night, to be at a certain “color” for reading or at a dim level for evening movie watching. If you are more tech-savvy, you can download an app, IFTT, which stands for, If This, Then That to set up rules for chains of operations. For example, for compatible lighting systems you can set it: if you are within a mile radius of your home, then turn on return home lights preset, or: when I enter the living room then the lights will come on. If you want to start simple, get a smart plug in, and plug your small appliances into it and turn on the electricity to it when you want them on.
Task/Activity Support
Smart appliances can be operated, from the kitchen, laundry, even the garage door on command. You can get an alert when the washing cycle is done. You can use your assistant to remind you to exercise or pray at a certain time, to wake you with your favorite song, to play for you a podcast, or audiobook. It can look up information—even recipes, tell you a joke, provide a translation, create white noise. There is even pet monitoring interactive devices that you can interact with a pet by turning on a laser beam for them to chase, or dispense a treat. And who doesn’t love robots that vacuum, mop, or even mow the lawn!
Security
There are video doorbells and smart locks so you can respond to the person at the front door and unlock it from your phone. Motion detection can send you an alert so you can monitor when a package is delivered, or alert authorities if there is suspicious behavior. You can also arm a home security system, be alerted if there is movement in your home so you can view via cameras. It can also help locate digital devices, even a car with corresponding apps.
There is also a downside to a having a smart home and a digital assistant, it can make one more vulnerable to a hacker (but companies are continually thwarting this just as they do for computer hackers), and the machine is learning your habits, recording your voice. You can ask some devices to erase what was just said, others you can go into settings and erase them. For privacy’s sake, keep it in a public location like the kitchen, and if you are having a sensitive conversation, unplug it to maintain your privacy.
So do a little research to see which assistant is right for you, each have pros and cons and limits as to what companies they interface with. For example, if you have brand of appliances, check here is a resource of what these digital assistants work with.
Amazon Alexa
Apple HomeKit
Google Assistant
“She shall bear a son, and you are to name Him Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
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