How IoT Will Unlock Smart Living’s Limitless Possibilities That Lie In Our Imagination “It’s about trying to make [the existing products] better, based on context, preferences and what you want to do with them.” Technology helps spark smarter living Intelligent refrigerators already keep an inventory of their contents and send out phone alerts when certain items are running low, while smart mirrors that keep stock of the clothes in your wardrobe, and make recommendations about what to wear when you are going out, are no longer a new concept. ·
Smart home industry – valued at US$826 million in 2019 – is expected to be worth US$3.28 billion by 2027
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Sharp growth in number of IoT appliances puts need for uninterrupted and reliable connectivity in limelight
Fast, stable and reliable internet connections are becoming more important in the home as people rapidly integrate smart everyday physical objects, such as air conditioners, refrigerators and security cameras, which are embedded with sensors, software and other technology that can exchange data online, into their lives. As we enter the era of the Internet of Things – the network of everyday physical objects embedded with sensors, software, and other technology that can send and receive data from other computing devices over the internet – the global smart home industry is seeing exponential growth. 22
Automate Sept-Nov 2021
This market, which was valued at US$826 million in 2019, is expected to be worth US$3.28 billion by 2027, market research company Verified Market Research reported in June. “IoT is about taking the existing products that are already there and making them better,” Daniel Cooley, chief technology officer at Silicon Labs, an American tech service provider, said.
Demand for smart IoT technology has grown since the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to spend more time at home. Photo: Shutterstock
However, since the COVID-19 pandemic forced people to spend much more time in their homes, there has been a huge surge in demand for using new technology in living spaces to improve their quality of life. Sarah Housley, head of consumer technology at WGSN, a trend forecasting agency, said: “All of these technologies that were projected for the next decade are coming much faster than we anticipated as consumers are becoming much more comfortable using them, wanting to buy them, and looking to invest their money in them.” Growing consumer interest in smart, voice-controlled household products led to sales of these items rising by almost 61 per cent last year compared with 2019, German market research company Growth from Knowledge reported in March.
