Each person can point to something technology has changed in their house in the past decade. Our homes continue to become smarter, more intuitive, and tailored to meet our not only core needs like food preparation, but enhanced in how they can entertain us, and relax us.
For manufacturers, it’s a race to commercialize these ideas before someone else does. Take Virtual Reality as an example. The industry is growing rapidly, and is projected to double in size over only a three-year period; from 12 billion U.S. dollars in 2022 to more than 22 billion U.S. dollars by 2025.
We as consumers shape how the market responds to what we prefer, or have less interest in, but usually, these evolutions take time. The way certain technology is changing the home is far more rapid. Air fryers were invented in 2010, and that industry has skyrocketed over the last five years, boasting a CAGR of 7.2% over the next decade. What’s clear is that we are not nearly finished with reinventing how in-home technology can benefit people. But what’s next?
Faster and Cheaper
Home automation is an area where technology is making significant strides. Smart homes are no longer confined to voice-controlled lights and thermostats. They can now encompass entire ecosystems of interconnected devices within a home.
With the release of ‘smart refrigerators’ that can suggest recipes based on available ingredients, we are increasingly seeing a push for AI-powered personal assistants that learn and adapt to our preferences – your Amazon Alexa or Google Home is a great example of the concept. This is an area which continues to see focus from manufacturers; the removal of manual labor, and administration, commonly associated with the running of a home.
A New Reality
Virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) are pivotal players in the evolution of home entertainment. Bulky headsets are rapidly slimming down to pairs of enhanced sunglasses, transforming living rooms into casino floors and movie theaters. Gaming experiences like live online casinos UK are not new concepts, but they are unrecognizable in how they operate now, to how they have previously. The potential impact of VR headsets and AR applications will make such experiences increasingly accessible, and significantly more immersive. Tech brands are still working out the means of making VR and AR translate better in the real world, but as innovation continues to demonstrate, if there’s an appetite for it from consumers, they’ll find a way to meet it.
Parallel to the idea of immersing the user, is also allowing the user to purchase and spend within, for example, gaming platforms, with more confidence. More advanced security systems, including facial recognition, secure our online activity, while smart locks, and more comprehensive surveillance, provide peace of mind and a heightened sense of control over our living spaces.
Intelligence Reimagined
The integration of artificial intelligence is probably one of the most exciting contributing factors to the personalization of home tech setups. AI algorithms can analyze habits, anticipate needs, and automate routine tasks, making living spaces intuitively intelligent, rather than passively convenient. The ‘pre-empting of needs’ is the next logical step for home technology.
For now, it’s limited to trivial things like AI-driven entertainment recommendations, where your home system learns your preferences and suggests content tailored to your tastes.
Tomorrow, it could be noticing patterns in behavior that indicate health issues or mental turmoil. The integration of ‘Internet of Things (IoT)’ devices is expanding our capacity to monitor and manage various aspects of our homes remotely, but it remains very much based on our triggering of action for the most part. We can don headsets and be transported to different worlds of entertainment, interact with other people as if they are sitting across from us, or learn essentially any skill or concept we choose. What’s next is a technology that can help us find a path and fulfill a desire, before we’ve even realized we want to do so.
Also Read: Smart Tech that Every Home Needs
