In the current home market, smart trends are a hot topic, but within the next five years, these trends are expected to explode with popularity. From a report by Allied Market Research, the $4.8 billion revenue for smart home technology is estimated to reach up to $35 billion in the year 2020. These bold numbers are due in part to rising energy cost, as well as increased awareness of environmental issues. What are some smart home trends that are coming our way?
The first of smart home trends is the smart elevator. Microsoft’s lab in Washington is currently testing a smart elevator that would know if you want to get on the elevator and what floor you want to get out on. Equipped with a Kinect camera, this elevator learns body language signals to determine if you want on the elevator or not. Then, Microsoft intends to have the elevator interact with its passengers, such as a jiggle of the door to see if the person wants to get in, followed by a nod or shake of the head by the passenger.
Next, Piper might be a home trend to be seen in more homes in the coming years. Piper is a home security system that uses Z-wave home automation, panoramic video, and environmental sensors. All of these high-tech capabilities are combined into a small device that can be controlled by your mobile device. Piper users can customize many abilities of this system to improve home safety. They can synchronize alarms with their daily schedule or have texts sent to their phone if motion is detected inside the home. One Piper device is less than $300, plus smart accessories.
Lastly, Birdi, the next generation of smoke detectors is expected to become popular. In addition to informing you of a smoke or a fire, Birdi would also detect levels of carbon monoxide and air quality levels to determine if air is healthy to breathe. This system is smart enough to sense if someone is just smoking a cigarette or if there is pollen in the air. Like most smart systems, Birdi is capable of synchronizing with your mobile device to update you on real-time issues inside your home.