Christian Schiemann of automation manufacturers ABB, delivered insights on holistic smart homes and their crime prevention benefits at the Home Show.
“I met a person who bought a Google Home from Officeworks, plugged it in at home and said ‘switch on my lights’ and nothing happened. Surprise surprise!” Laughed Christian.
It seems silly, but the DIY inclined are usually stubborn enough to take a crack at something that’s far outside their skillset. Christian warns of investing your hard-earned cash into smart tech, only to find you have no one to call when things don’t work. For that reason, Google is unlikely to heed the call when your smart fridge fails to order the Scandinavian goat cheese you wanted. And you asked nicely.
Holistic approach
Purchasing different smart products from different companies of different qualities is a fragmented approach to getting your goat cheese. Consequently, there’s more room for error, less accountability, and therefore, you take most the problem-solving element on yourself.
Smart home manufacturers are in a unique position to offer start-to-finish smart home solutions. Similar to how Apple found success through manufacturing iPhones and proving the software that runs on them. You want a seamless and intuitive experience when you return home to your nest.
Christian explains, “when something breaks down is it system A or system B? Do I ring Google? Or do I take the problem on myself? Using one manufacturer who designs things to work together, there’s no finger-pointing exercise; you ring one person.“
Christian compares Google Home to a ’dark art’ which, despite ‘big claims’ by adverts, nobody understands what can connect to it.
9 Automation Puzzle Pieces
| Light control ? |
| Bring your home to light with the ability to switch and dim lights. Control individually, as a group, or part of predefined ‘routine’ settings.
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| Blind control ☀️ |
| Utilising a different source of light, the light of the sun! Nothing wakes you up quicker than the power of the sun’s rays bursting through the windows straight into your eyeballs!
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| Heating and cooling ? |
| Energy efficiency is the name of the game and automation puts other players to shame! Temperature regulates itself based on occupancy, location in the home and windows.
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| Door communication ? |
| Cameras pointed outside your door can identify intruders, dodgy deliveries or even your stepmother!
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| Safety ? |
| Your automated guards are movement detection sensors and window and door sensors. Your deterrent comes in the form of a ‘presence simulation’ which turns all the lights on. You can remotely alert the police if necessary.
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| Scene control ? |
| Lights, camera, scene! ‘Waking up’; ‘formal dinner’; ‘Netflix and chill’… Programming scenes in your tablet or smartphone is child’s play.
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| Voice control ? |
| Speaking to Siri, Alexa or OK Google isn’t for everyone. But if it were between getting up from the sofa or saying ‘turn off living room lights’, which would you choose?
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| Logic functions ? |
| Get creative with your smart home. Logic dictates IF this happens THEN this will happen. For example, if the forecast says rain then close all the windows.
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| Third-party ? |
| An intelligent smart home set-up will allow third party products and services to plug-and-play seamlessly like the popular Philips Smart Hue. |
Smart Security
“I’ve had two customers approach me with a very interesting scenario. Saying, ‘We got burgled once, and they would ring the doorbell, and when no-one answered, the burglar knew that no-one is at home. How can we prevent that from happening?’ That’s very simple,” assured Christian.
Home security is no joke; 1 in 76 homes in Victoria are burgled. Smart homes mimic the presence of humans to ward off unwanted guests. Where time activated lights are predictable, interactive intelligent home systems are unpredictable.
Imagine yourself on a beach in Greece when you receive a notification on your phone. A burglar, who is 90% sure the property is empty, has rung your doorbell on the other side of the world to test this. To his amazement, you begin speaking back. They immediately leave the scene. Using the recording, you report the person to the police and get back to your tanning session.
New Build, Old Build
Christian illustrates this point: “We have a customer who has a new build and is going for all the wires. He also has a granny flat in the back yard, yet he doesn’t want to dig out the garden again. So he’s connecting the granny flat wirelessly to the main house. You can mix and match these two solutions.”
Christian Schiemann of automation manufacturers ABB presented ‘Make your home intelligent’ at the Home Show.
