If we could talk to appliances, just imagine the possibilities.
That’s what the world’s leading technology companies are asking us to do this year: Talk to our televisions, take advice from our fridges, tell the toilet lid to close, and even chat to our bathroom mirrors, wine racks, lamps and door locks.
The trend is part of a push to add artificial intelligence to all corners of our homes, and even to the cars in our garages.
Fridges will suggest recipes based on their contents
And, if these companies can achieve their ultimate goal, our newly capable homes could make our lives easier in unimaginable ways.
Smart homes do not come without technical challenges, however, and security experts warn we’ll need to lock our residences with software as well as keys in future.
Smart homes and intelligent appliances dominated the agenda at the world’s biggest technology show this week, and became the centrepiece for presentations from Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Whirlpool and others at the Consumer Electronics Show.
LG Electronics US marketing vice-president David VanderWaal confidently proclaimed 2018 would be “the tipping point for the smart home and, more importantly, for the smart- connected lifestyle”.
The company pledged to add AI to every appliance it launched this year, from dishwashers to washing machines, air conditioners to air purifiers.
Combined with Google’s voice assistant, the new generation of whitegoods will let users quiz their ovens about when dinner will be ready, or ask their dryers when they can wear their clothes again.
The smart machines could even proactively help users, as in the scenario quoted by LG Electronics president I.P. Park.
“In the car, LG’s in-vehicle entertainment system can communicate with your home refrigerator to see if you need to pick up groceries after work,” he explains.
“And as you get closer to your home, it adjusts your home temperature (and) your garage door automatically opens when you arrive.”
LG promises its washing machines will also be able to automatically recognise clothing styles and wash them accordingly, fridges will suggest recipes based on their contents, and the TV can be ordered to turn off when a show finishes, saving you from falling asleep with the speaker still blaring.
Samsung will also double down on smart home technology this year, promising to bring connectivity seen in its popular Family Hub smart fridges to other machines around the home.
Samsung Australia home appliances director Jeremy Senior says consumers should expect internet connections in many everyday items this year.
“The connectivity will be available in washing machines, robot vacuum cleaners, and other key areas,” he says, though the company will stop just short of smart ovens.
Samsung Electronics smart appliances vice-president Sunggy Koo says the smarter devices will also be simpler to set up, thanks to an overhaul of the company’s app, which will be relaunched as SmartThings.
“The smart home must be really considered otherwise it’s going to be hard to install, hard to use, and almost impossible to maintain,” Koo says. “There are people who say, ‘Oh, it’s too expensive’ but prices are coming down. We’re really focusing on the experience of the users and that will accelerate their adoption of smart home technology.”
As well as letting users direct their vacuum cleaners or query milk expiry dates with a voice command, Samsung’s SmartThings network will connect to devices from other manufacturers, including Ring’s video doorbell, Philips Hue lights, and Netgear security cameras.
There will be many more smart devices able to join them this year.
Whirlpool unveiled a connected microwave that shows cooking instructions for pre-packaged meals, while Schlage showed off a deadbolt that could be locked with a smartphone command.
Other innovations include the Caveasy One connected wine rack that predicts when bottles are ready to be opened, the Hunter SimpleConnect ceiling fan that can be directed to spin with a voice command to the Google Assistant, and an unexpected line of connected bathroom products from Kohler, including a shower head, toilet, tap, and three bathroom mirrors that use Amazon’s Alexa.
Kohler’s toilet responds to voice commands, has eco flushing, and you can ask Amazon’s Alexa (and Apple’s Siri) to lift the seat and play your favourite songs as part of the smart bathroom.
“When people talk about smart homes, they always leave out the bathroom,” Kohler innovation practices director David Funk says.
“We wanted to bring tech into the bathroom.”
Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson travelled to Las Vegas as a guest of Samsung