A home is the most expensive and important asset most of us will ever own. It holds our memories, our possessions and is the environment most of us rely on the keep us safe, especially during Covid. But here is the thing, why doesn’t your home talk to us? Tell us what’s going on? Warn us? Make decisions? Help us live a better life?
Homes are not even a Web2 world as they generate lots of data nobody collects and does something with. Certainly not during, always after. The world we live in is a Web3 world where our actions and lifestyle generate data and insights smart business owners know they can turn into value, in this case for the occupants.
A home should make decisions, optimise our lives, and look after us as our fortress in a post Covid world, after all my car (an Audi) talks to me and even books itself in for a service and oil change. It makes decisions for me, assists me while driving, warns me if I drift lanes, automatically brakes for me (bit annoying), reports on upcoming weather and read conditions, delivers data back to the manufacturer, but not yet the insurer. And I can manage my car from my App — lock it, start the car, put on the heating and measures and monitor any faults. I can see where its parked and if it moves without my permission — I can lock it and shut it down if stolen. This is a Web3 car.
Shouldn’t your home be able to do the same…
Current Smart Homes arn’t so smart?
We are sold smart home technology is Alexa, or Echo that listen? I threw mine out because the data it collects (conversations) are private, and the owner/user is not rewarded for anything. Help with shopping lists is boring? Turning lights on and off, controlling IoT devices is boring too. Labour saving but not optimised…these devices are not smart at all.
They can never be smart as they are not connected to the fabric of the building and their purpose is to listen,. learn and try to sell you stuff based on ‘eavesdropping’…
A real smart home eliminate all fire risk. A real smart home manages air quality that is linked to illness and cognitive performance as air quality in the home is likely to be 3 times worse than on a busy street. A real smart home monitors your biomarkers for home centred wellness and telemedicine collecting data that is passed to clinicians that forms another line of defense for us all. A real smart homes optimise our lives and look after us, it learns and makes small decisions that make a big difference, bringing things to our attention and automatically gets things fixed and problems solved, before they become bigger issues. Oh yes they also optimise energy use, integrate entertainment, security and monitor everything the occupants do — but that is a given…
Injecting a DNA into the fabric
A real smart home solutions has a nervous systems (an operating system) that delivers a Web3 environment, becomes part of the infrastructure, part of a new home build but also as a retro-fit options into older buildings.
The objective to self optimise the building on behalf of its occupants — home, the office, the care home, hotel or hospital . The system knows and sees everything and responds accordingly.
Edge Device
The ‘operating system’ connects anything and everything to it, lets you know what is going on through you user interface mobile phone/laptop,voice control and biometric interface vai a series of thresholds and alerts linked to a variety of sensors in every room. Data is collected, analysed and actions are taken in real time, the state of play by connected device, appliance and other systems.
Sustainability
You home rewards you for saving energy and water, for sharing you data with insurers and appliance manufacturers, to anyone else. You decide, your are in control. After all Web3 is all about adjusting in real time to behavioural and use data, to optimise lifestyle, resources and enjoyment. But at the heart of Web3 are incentives and rewards for providing your data about your life, but also controlling your data, your life — its for you to decide.
Everything with power is connected and everything about the appliances operating performance is known in advance delivering early detection of faults, issues and risk of fire and failure. All rooms and occupants are monitored as the house optimises use based on air quality, frequency of use and external factors — weather, temperature, pollen and external air quality. Air flows are managed, sun blinds optimise room temperatures and UV exposures, power optimised in rooms with no activity.
Warranty, Insurance
Real Smart Homes prevent incidents, fires and provide a feedback loop to appliance manufacturers in real time, data that reduces their claims exposure and saves on warranty programs. The home calls for the maintenance man when things go wrong. Real Smart Homes reduce the risk of fires knowing when to cut the power to an appliance, because it knows its operating performance and when the appliance has a fault, or when the air quality changes — the appliance is cut off and shut down.
Can you imagine the extent of energy savings in hotels and offices? The elimination of risk of damage and fire and other disasters. The opportunity to reduce insurance premiums and other primary risk factors. The improvement in wellness and air quality that optimises employee and occupants performance, the uptick in productivity, all of this becomes essential.
Net Zero Opportunity for Property Developers
This technology doesn’t cost any more that the old tech it replaces, it is cost neutral. More important the platform guides the developer as they make design, financial and planning decisions. An intelligent self optimising building will get planning approvals much quicker, they will be more attractive to occupants (buyers) and becomes an essential future proof option for an industry that is leaving opportunity and cash on the table.
Real Estate developers can build the next generation home that self optimises, looks after occupants and delivers income streams and behavioural change.They can with confidence say “Our homes look after you, help you live a better life” and this is entirely true.
Living Passports
All homes will soon have real time passports that shows how it is performing, second by second for energy, lifestyle, security and wellness. Since Covid everyone is more health conscious, they want to know their homes are safe, and the environment is looking after you. And when you buy a home you want to know it will performance and look after you.
Wellness, Telemedicine, Healthcare
In a post Covid world people don’t want to travel to clinics, stand in busy waiting rooms and some who are not well prefer not to leave the safety of their home. Imagine you home now collects all information relating to human health biomarkers, where biometric devices become just another intelligent device, that adjusts air quality data, ventilation and overall performance of the building to optimise your health.
A real smart home become a wellness centres that can include immersive experiences, hyperbaric services that can support medical interventions, mental health (PTSD) and optimise stress….
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Nick is a Deep Tech specialist and the Smart Home tech is one of his clients MyGlobalHome an award winning technology business.