Initially, home automation was limited to appliances that will work on their own, or at the very least, through their own app on a mobile device. This includes thermostats, TV lifts, lights, coffee makers, and security cameras. Electric Actuators, in particular, were useful in home automation because they extend what automation could do. Security cameras can cover a wider area with the addition of an actuator, because the range of motion was more extensive, and so on.

So far, most homes are not smart; the number of people in general, who owns a smart house, is growing fast, but overall, they don’t appear a lot in our day to day lives. Our homes now can do things, which are a huge bound beyond what the original home automation is, which relied on linear motion control for a great deal of its more complicated functions – could do for us. Our smart homes let us control everything from one single device so that one touch can turn on the lights while the other could turn on the coffee maker. More than that, people are constantly working on improvements for their smart homes, allowing them to turn into greater versions of themselves for the future.

Internet of Things

The Internet of Things is a concept which has been under discussion for a while. It is the idea that everything in a home that is made up of home automation can eventually interact directly with the homeowner, rather than just being given commands. The Internet of Things will provide a truly connected home because it can let the homeowner be more connected to their appliances, as they will closely know what they are capable of doing.

The Internet of Things was not possible until there was a method of sorting out any false signals, which were created through the electric lines. Once this was done, all the appliances in a smart home could become smarter, as they could now help their homeowner in discovering and running the house. Having the ability to keep false starts from being read as commands means that commands can run through the systems thick and fast and allow faster communication, and faster homes.

Smart Home Problems

There are still some issues with the overall technology. Right now a smart home has no way of telling who is giving a command, whether it is the homeowner, their drunk friend, or their toddler. This means someone who is unfamiliar with the house or wants to play a prank on people can get hold of whatever mobile device the homeowner controls their home from. They can start turning the lights on and off, make the blinds open then immediately close it again, and the home will simply carry out those commands; it has no way of understanding why these things are wrong. Future iterations of the smart home will possibly be able to compensate for this and for other problems.

Smart Home – the Next Generation

Smart homes of the future are working on the way to change these problems for the better, and otherwise working on ways to being homeowners new ways of using them and enjoying their homes in the future. Perhaps passwords will become a commonplace in smart homes, just as they are on our email accounts today.