2014: The year you might email your dishwasher
MAKING sure your house is warm when you get in from work could soon be as easy as texting your boiler – or at least that was the message coming out of a major tech industry show in the US yesterday.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last night, Samsung revealed its vision for an online home, where household devices from TVs to refrigerators are all connected and controlled through its Smart Home platform.
The so-called Internet of Things – devices other than the traditional PCs, laptops, tablets and phones that can be connected online – is expected to grow from 900m connected devices today, to more than 26bn devices by 2020, according to Gartner. The services that connect these devices will share part of an estimated $309bn (£188bn) market.
Samsung said its Smart Home service will work with products from other manufacturers and third parties’ devices over time, but will be limited to Samsung’s own TVs and appliances at first.
The firm said the initiative will give users greater control of their devices, allowing them to adjust thermostats or turn off lights, even when they are out the house.
LG is taking a similar approach with its HomeChat service, a SMS-based service that will allow users to message any of its 2014 range of smart appliances with messages such as “I’m going on holiday” to put fridges, washing machines and dishwashers into power-saving modes.