There is rapidly growing awareness of what is called ‘Smart technology’ driven largely by the concept of the Connected Home. This is where a continuously growing number of devices can connect, communicate and transfer data and even take autonomous action. The clearest evidence of this is in smart home entertainment, security systems, thermostats, lighting and energy monitors.
A PWC survey in 2018 suggests that £10.8 Billion will be spent on smart home devices in the 2019 in the UK alone! Both Amazon and Google have got off to a fast start in this market by offering low cost smart speakers and low- cost bundles across devices.
All of these technologies are a means to an end to enhance one’s life and promote comfort, safety, and having control.
However, whilst the business opportunities for the adoption of these technologies are numerous there are still some obstacles to universal adoption which are;
Cost of the devices
Many smart devices are proprietary in nature so for a given application you are compelled to buy certain brands which are far more expensive than commodity devices which are from a functional point of view are NO different.
Security
Many smart devices need a reliable internet connection with all the security issues that raises. Whilst this is obviously a given when you want to access their services remotely, to operate such devices from within the home should only require a local network.
Personal privacy
Cloud based IoT applications will always be at some risk to PII data being compromised.
Difficult to learn to use
Mobile phone apps in the early days of their introduction were a bit ‘clunky’ to use, IoT apps will in time follow mobile phone apps in being user friendly and intuitive.
Total Intelligence has ‘teamed up’ with SystronicsRF to promote their Smart device platform which addresses all the issues highlighted above.
By having a software platform NOT dependent on the user having to purchase proprietary devices therefore reducing costs considerably.
Devices can be controlled locally alleviating security and privacy concerns but with the flexibility of remote access as well.
Adoption of a simple to use interface to make the application really easy to learn.