Technology is constantly evolving. Not long ago, cube shelving was the ultimate DIY hack to make a house smart and efficient. However, with advancements, now we have entered the era of homes equipped with tech that makes lives convenient. One such development is the smart car-to-home connectivity that is at the grasp of becoming a reality.
Connectivity is now a fundamental principle of lifestyle. What started with smartphones, advanced to smart homes, and smart cars. Artificial intelligence first brought our social life in our bed, then office in our living room, and now our home is where we are, on wheels and roads.
Artificial intelligence is the genie that has made our lives easier to live and enjoy. Everything is in the palm of our hand at the touch of our fingers. A single verbal command and you have it all. You no longer have to drive back home from halfway across the city to see if you forgot to turn off the oven, gas, lights, or check if you forgot to lock the door. Now you can do all this and more from your car itself. You no longer need to go through cube shelving, looking for one particular thing.
The certain and the most welcoming amalgamation of the smart homes and cars is greatly anticipated by many. With 30 billion connected household devices being used around the world by 2020 and a $58.7 billion market, one can see that people prefer smart, connected devices. It is predicted that 94 million connected cars will hit the market by 2021. The pairing of both industries will bring promising opportunities for consumers and investors alike.
It is not lost to anyone that the lifestyle experience is going through a rapid overhaul. People want to be at many places at the same time. Consumer needs have led to great innovations that have become a part of our lives today.
Artificial personal assistant
What started with Siri has, in less than a decade, advanced into several proprietary AI personal assistants. And now we see Amazon Alexa making her way into the automobile industry. Through a partnership with Amazon Alexa, companies like Ford Motor Company have introduced Ford SYNC that offers next-generation in-car infotainment features with smart home connectivity. This will allow you to control more than 1000 different smart home devices from behind the wheels.
This means, on your way home, you can preheat the oven and switch on the HVAC from your car itself. You no longer need to make detours to buy groceries. Now you can order and get them delivered to your home with a single click on your car's dashboard. Gone are the days of rummaging through cube shelving, now you shop better with the digital shelf from your cars and homes.
Seeing the rapid evolution of AI, you can expect to see advanced features and deeper levels of connectivity, including:
- Communication between homes and cars through an always-on, wireless connection
- Record your favourite shows and programs from your car through voice command
- Live voice notifications and alerts to inform you of a visitor at the front door of your home, features allowing you to see and talk to them from your car.
These features will introduce a new era of connectivity.
Notification and Commands
Amazon Alexa and Google home have already made the luxury of controlling lighting, thermostat, and smart appliances through voice command possible for a few years now. The connected car-to-home technology will give things an easier and seamless front. This allows you to make better and quicker decisions through more information. You can plan your day with more precision, see what other members of your family are up to; this will open you to the opportunity of scheduling more time to spend with your loved ones. No more worries about your teen leaving the main door unlocked, stove open, and water still running behind them. Somewhat a disaster free life.
Integrating car-to-home connectivity
Connectivity has become a fundamental feature incorporated into everything, from smartwatches to smart refrigerators and washing machines. The convergence of smart homes and connective cars will open a platform full of opportunities for software developers to design car-to-home online portals for communication and optimizing the consumer experience through interactive apps. Such apps provide smooth and straightforward car-to-home connectivity for consumers through a wireless network.
Luxury automobile brands have introduced dashboard-based smart home management assistance to help you incorporate this new era of technology. Now you can keep track of your car's location, unlock doors and more from your home and vice versa with features like,
- Individual configuration of rooms and smart home appliances
- Setting off and on the home alarm system
- Receiving alerts in case of emergencies
In the coming few years
The biggest hallmark of this evolution would be the desegregation of data. Learning of consumers' needs, analyzing their behavioral patterns to predict their actions and preferences, to provide a better service for them can only be done through data analysis. The data comprising consumers' habits and lifestyle preferences hold great value to smart home-automation companies. They customize their products and services around the customer's needs. It's time to optimize your life with car-to-home connectivity like you once did your wardrobe with cube shelving.
More connectivity will influence more mobile home-management abilities and increase security. With connected alerts about our homes and vehicles, we will see influx visibility. You will be constantly aware of any home emergencies while away, alerts about visitors, water or gas leaks, unlocked doors or windows, detection of intruders, regardless of where you are. And car-theft alarms, GPS tracking and voice command, and auto accident-reporting will make you more aware of your car from your home.
The other side of the coin
One can't deny that this intriguing car-to-home connectivity seems tempting with every passing minute, but such great convenience comes at a price. Unlike cube shelving, this new advancement comes with its drawbacks. Every connection makes you more and more vulnerable to the unfortunate risk of hacking. It is quite ironic, the very technology designed to make our lives easier and secure renders us vulnerable to the intruders sitting behind the computer screens.
Many argue that this level of control through artificial intelligence will leave you the victim of an invasion of privacy and exploitation. Some things are better at the hands of human empathy. The data collected through these smart technologies can be used against us by various malicious corporations, individuals, agencies.
Smart technology is an integral part of our lives now. However, one can't deny the huge threat these technologies pose to global cybersecurity. The more we integrate such smart technologies in our homes and lives, the more we compromise our privacy. Many companies are working to resolve this issue and develop sophisticated security software with two-way encryptions or passwords to avoid security lapses. Regardless, the new innovations since the advent of cube shelving have and will make our lives convenient and smooth.