12 | MANE PRODUCT & TECHNOLOGY | FEBRUARY 2019
SMARTER THAN THE AVERAGE HOME
Famous cartoon character Yogi Bear would claim that he was smarter than the average bear. He was able to function like a normal bear, but also had the ability to talk and come up with plans for stealing food from picnic baskets. Much like Yogi Bear, new technology and devices have led to a new wave of electronic devices that can talk, plan a common action and execute it – making the home become a ‘smart home’.
Where it seems the older generation are adverse to this new way of looking at the home, it is Generation X and Generation Y who are maximizing on its abilities and potential. Once a time when using this technology was seen as ‘lazy’ is now being viewed as ‘convenient’ and ‘clever’, leading millions to have the thought path of thinking “if I can program this to work electronically, what and how would I go about making something else manual become automated?”
With now a multitude of devices available around the home, here is our list of our favourite smart home gadgets, ranging from the old to the new, and the weird to the wonderful.
Ring
We have already listed a device that can control things going on inside the home, but what can help with outside the home? Introducing Ring which is a smart doorbell that is popular in the smart market.
Not just your standard doorbell – linked to an app and wifi, Ring can track movements outside your property, record video footage to the cloud and send you notifications of movement or visitors. These have been helpful with catching those who have attempted to steal cars outside of homes, trespass onto properties or even just making sure when that delivery you ordered arrives when you’re not home – you can see and speak to those near the doorbell, telling them where to leave the package.
Nest
Nest is a way of controlling the heating in the home. This device is slowly increasing in popularity with some energy companies now offering to install this as an option. With Nest, the thermostat can be set automatically to change temperature without getting up, whether by app or by phone. It also offers a smart way of tracking expenditure on heating in the home.
Heating can be set to go on and off at certain times or to be hotter or cooler at certain times. The Nest thermostat allows for finding the right temperature for the right time and can even mean when you arrive back from a long day, home sweet home is as cosy as you want it to be.
Logitech Harmony
A small box that emits infrared signals, mimicking those of remote controls, the Logitech Harmony has the capabilities of turning on and off devices such as TVs, Satellite boxes, games consoles and even other devices such as a hi-fi, fan or air conditioning.
Programming commands in to make them work together, commands such as turning on a DVD player and having the television go to the correct channel to play it can be made. The option to turn everything off at once can be done before going to bed. The option to have the turn on a fan without leaving bed if warm in the night is possible too. The range of devices covered grows monthly allowing for more options in the future.