At this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas today, one of the growing trends among the companies exhibiting at the giant industry gathering is the so-called smart home. An explosion of gadgets aims to take objects around the home, add processors and sensors to them, and connect them to the Internet.
Listening to some of the people hawking smart home technologies, you’d think we’re all a bit paranoid.
“We have room motion sensors that will sit up on the corner … it’s infrared so it detects heat signatures” to differentiate between pets and potential intruders, says Leah Polk, with computer accessories company Belkin. Sensors can even be added to people, she says.
“We also have a keychain sensor, which is designed to sit on your keychain, or on your kid’s backpack or on your pet’s collar that can tell you if they’ve come or gone,” Polk says.
Alarm.com strives to be the Apple of this sensor-filled world. Jay Kenny says his company can provide the platform to make everything work together.
“When the security system is disarmed, the lights can turn on, the thermostat can adjust, the garage door can close. All these things happen automatically as if they are one organism,” Kenny says.
Shawn DuBravac, a senior economist with the Consumer Electronics Association, says that connecting more everyday objects to the Internet is definitely a trend.
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