As the number of smart homes in Europe and North America was estimated to 30M last year and is projected to reach 150M in 2021, let’s imagine a few use cases which may contribute to a stronger adoption of IoT technologies at home in the years to come.
It’s early in the morning and you reach for the milk to put on your cereal. It’s almost empty. You get barely enough to cover the cereal, but what about later on? Or tomorrow morning? You start to think about the day you have ahead of you and you have no idea when you might get to the store. Wouldn’t it be amazing if, in Jetson’s-like fashion, you could tell your fridge — or your phone — to get more milk. Wouldn’t it be even better if the milk was waiting at your doorstep when you got home later that day?
While most communities no longer have a milkman who brings milk to the door every morning, the Internet of Things can fix that … and a lot of other home issues too. If you have ever told Alexa or Echo to order you another gallon of laundry detergent, or had your Nest system adjust the temperature in your home, you have used IoT technology. What’s even better is the business opportunities created by the adoption of IoT.
Beyond Alexa and Echo, Samsung has Bixby
Beyond Alexa or Echo, which are standalone devices, Samsung has introduced Bixby — pretty much a butler in your phone and a brilliant addition to smart home and phone technology. What Samsung has done is integrated its smart home technology into other devices and appliances it already sells, like Samsung’s smart TV’s. Bixby is, essentially, a universal remote for your life, according to Samsung executives.
Imagine it’s a busy Tuesday (like every other Tuesday), and you realize you invited family over to have dinner before your child’s game. You also know you’re living room carpet hasn’t been vacuumed since last week. You could tell Bixby or flick the right app on your phone, and have your Samsung robot vacuum clean up before you get home. Not sure what your cooking? With an app designed to connect to your smart refrigerator, you could have the contents of your fridge and a potential shopping list in your phone without having to run home first. All the elements that make up a smart home can be controlled from a top-notch smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy S8 for example.
Business Opportunities in Home IoT Tech
In the burgeoning world of home IoT tech, opportunities abound for innovation. Anyone who can have diapers and baby wipes delivered to the door of a new mom quickly will have a loyal customer. Anyone who could have it done before mom and baby wake up in the morning will be a superhero. Essentially, any services that make the work we do at home easier and more efficient are likely to be successful.
Big Companies Make it Easier for Small Companies to Make Money
While it may seem difficult to get into this type of business because large companies are already developing the technology, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, allowing large technology companies to take care of the heavy lifting allows new businesses to come in with their innovative ideas. Developing apps, ancillary services and technologies, or other unheard-of ideas will become easier as the connective technology is developed further.
Making the mundane tasks of life simpler for busy people will always present opportunity. Back in the day, the milkman bringing fresh milk to the door every morning was a revelation. No one had to go out and milk the cow in the backyard anymore! Now, if someone could figure out a way to get the clothes from the washer into the dryer, out and folded, with the flick of an app, they could make a fortune, couldn’t they?
