Chances are if you have walked down any major appliance store in the past couple of years, you may have noticed something interesting: fridges that have a tablet on the door or even microwaves that have ”Alexa enabled” written on them. You may have immediately thought, “why on earth would I need this” but these appliances are part of a broader range of devices all connected to the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT refers to the billions of physical devices all connected to the internet that collect, exchange and analyze data in the cloud.
As a consumer, you may see devices like the Google Home, Amazon Echo, and Apple HomePod. These hubs are all part of the “smart home” movement and are making homes more connected than ever. For example, if your light bulbs have the smart home option enabled, you could simply say “Alexa turn on the living room lights” and instantly your room is filled with whatever color light you choose. Similarly, these voice assistants also let you see who’s at your front door and even unlock it, change the temperature, or even turn on the microwave for whatever time you want to.
Since these devices connect to the internet, there are tons of data that can be analyzed in order to provide insights that make life that much easier for the consumer. Remember the fridge with the tablet that was mentioned earlier? Well, these fridges now have the capacity to scan the contents of the fridge and create insights into how the consumer spends and uses food in order to auto-order food and make sure the fridge is never empty. As useful as some of these devices may be, there exists another to show what the potential of IoT has to affect all aspects of life. The smart fork can detect when noodles are going to be slurped and play a noise to mask the sound from others around. These devices are a testament to how IoT is rapidly changing the home and how we interact with all of our devices.