Join the smart set: technology pushing Hong Kong homes into the future In Microsoft’s home of the future, a kitchen counter can display or read out recipes step by step while you cook. That’s after the built-in sensors have assembled a grocery list and suggested recipes based on available items in the pantry and refrigerator. A teenager’s bedroom is predictably interactive, with a design as changeable as an adolescent’s mood. The dining table transforms into a virtual games space controlled by hand movements. Perhaps not so appealing is another dining room feature – a wall-sized display using cloud services to project health and diet information, allowing you, and everyone else, to monitor your food intake. Like it or not, technology is encroaching into every aspect of our lives, including our home environment. Microsoft’s imagined future home may be a way off yet but, in 2015, technology will drive Hong Kong homes further into the future. Advances in intelligent technology, coupled with the growing popularity of smart devices, led Hong Kong Telecommunications (HKT) to launch a raft of home automation services under the brand Smart Living. “The concept encompasses everything in everyday life, from the way people move around the home, through to all kinds of lifestyle choices,” says Ringo Ng, HKT’s managing director of its consumer group. “The desired result is to create a more intelligent and healthy way of life that benefits from higher levels of comfort, convenience, efficiency and enjoyment. “Smart Living brings together smart consumer gadgets from virtually every aspect of everyday life, including health and wellness, domestic appliances, audio-visual gear, entertainment, gaming, communications and personal management.” For example, it allows electrical facilities and appliances, such as lighting, curtains, air conditioning, audio-visual equipment and security surveillance, to be controlled via a smartphone or tablet, either within or outside the home. The technology also helps to monitor personal wellness via the latest wearable devices, such as activity trackers and a device to monitor the length and quality of the wearer’s sleep. While these may be new concepts, technology’s role in design innovation has been evident throughout civilisation, says Hong Kong architect and “smart city” specialist Otto Ng. “Good understanding of technology available opens up design possibilities so that we know how to hit and push the boundary.” Likewise, good design also enhances technology advancement. “For example, we’ve been working with a Boston-based solar company to improve their engineering technology with our design strategy.” At LAAB, where Ng is design director, smart-home ideas form one area of focus as the firm uses technology to “produce unprecedented designs”. “We work a lot with Philips’ Hue system,” he says. “Each light bulb is an independent microcomputer that connects to your phone, allowing you to modify its colour and brightness. We are also using an August smart lock that appears like a dumb standard lock, but allows you to unlock the door with your phone. You can also send a digital key to a friend when they are visiting.” Otto Ng has yet to see any widely compatible and integrative smart home system on the market but is keeping watch on the development of Google’s Nest and Apple’s HomeKit, “which are meant to connect and integrate all the intelligence-activated devices within a certain space”. Homes are becoming smaller but smarter. “As our city population expands within limited land, we begin to look into concepts such as 4D shared-space. The interior architecture has to be smart and responsive to your changing style of living. For example, we are designing a tiny apartment that is fitted with a Jacuzzi that can be transformed into a bed or a home theatre with the aid of sensors and mechanical systems,” he says. As more of us tend to work from home, our inner sanctum will also need to be equipped as a fully networked office. “Work is no longer a location but an activity, with more and more workers able to leverage technology such as smartphones and high-speed broadband to work remotely,” says UXC, an Australian company in the IT services sector. About 65 per cent of teleworking organisations expect the number of people working from home to increase in the next year. Next year, 38 million households worldwide will have a smart-home system, estimates ON World, a smart technology research firm. “There are almost as many ways to deliver smart home services as there are smart home system variations,” says director of research Mareca Hatler. “Broadband and security service providers are the first to offer mass market solutions, and we are seeing disruptive offerings in the cable TV, mobile and retail channels.” Will life as we know it be better for it? Theoretically, yes, though there are those who won’t agree. In any case, don’t expect home automation to make a dramatic difference any time soon. The ultimate goal of a smart home, Otto Ng says, is to make living easier by responding to one’s needs automatically. “To achieve this, we have to go through a lot of developments in electronics and artificial intelligence. We still have a very long way to go. However, I believe one day we will see all the machines and appliances hidden away from your vision but quietly and naturally serving your needs.” Do consider: Say what? Technology companies are perfecting ways to let people control their home automation via voice, much like how Apple’s Siri works on our phones. Several systems are already on the market from companies such as Home Automated Living. Some companies have built working prototypes that allow users to control home appliances via gestures. These systems rely on cameras to detect movements but in future 3D motion detectors will sense that. The future is here: Jawbone UP24, a popular wireless fitness tracker wristband, is on its way into our homes. It also acts as a sensor for the SmartThings home automation system on sale in the US. “The SmartThings app and hub connect to sensors covering locks, light switches, outlets, thermostats and other compatible devices in the home. As an example, a person wearing a Jawbone can walk into household premises with SmartThings and the Jawbone can turn on the lights, change thermostat settings and so on,” says Ringo Ng. Wait, there’s more: The smart home is only a fraction of the bigger internet of things phenomenon that is rapidly emerging. “With embedded intelligence, machines are connected and work with each other, ushering integrated automation that serves everyone’s daily needs,” says Otto Ng. “Some of the biggest examples include self-driving vehicles and smart power grid systems.”
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 17:00:00 +0000
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