What's Your Home's IQ?

With technology finding its way into more and more aspects of our everyday lives, it was only a matter of time before our homes got some tech-savvy upgrades. From door locks controlled by an app to automated pet feeders to a teddy bear that puts your kid to bed (crazy but true), technology is invading our homes. Let’s take a look at what the future has in store for our domiciles because, after all, nobody wants a dumb house, right?

Mensa membership aside, a smart home incorporates advanced automation systems to provide homeowners with sophisticated monitoring and control over the building’s functions, according to the British technology consultants at Smart Home Energy.

Basically, you have remote control to everything from your home’s heating and cooling systems to intercoms and multimedia devices. And to prove that this is no flash in the pan, giants like Google and Qualcomm are investing heavily in the “smart home” according to Forbes.

Forgot your keys? Not a problem as smart homes utilize products like the August Smart Lock –recently shown at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona – to send a virtual key to anyone you want to have access to your home via your Facebook contacts.

August Smart Lock

To secure your home, take a look at the Canary home security system, which requires no installation and no monthly fees. Sensors throughout the home are connected to your W-Fi network to track the home’s activity on your phone. The Canary has a built-in camera, night vision, and motion sensors to warn you of an intruder and it also senses changes in indoor air quality and humidity, according to Fox News.

Teddy the Guardian

Besides making life more comfortable, smart homes present economical advantages. Controlling the many functions of your home remotely results in increased efficiency as lights can be turned off when no one is home and temperature can be adjusted while you’re away. Lower electricity, water and gas bills in addition to the resale selling points of having a smart home makes all of this a potentially wise investment.

Other items focus more on who is in your home as opposed to what is in it. Teddy the Guardian by IDX Labs is equipped with sensors that measure a child’s heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen levels and temperature, which is then sent to a parent’s phone via Bluetooth reports Tech Crunch. For your other dear (and furry) one, the Petnet makes sure your dog or cat gets fed on time even when you’re away thanks to an automated feeding schedule controlled from your smartphone.

It’s just a matter of time until we start seeing these technologies in Chicago homes. Are you ready for this home revolution? What kind of technologies do you want to see inside your home?

 

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