Will a smart home make you fat?

One of the main tenets of the smart home is that you can do so much from your phone or iPad. You don’t have to get up to change the thermostat or the lighting; with video monitoring and smart locks, you don’t even have to get up to answer the door. Nobody really walks to the mailbox anymore and everybody has a phone in their pocket. Perhaps it’s time to consider the longer-term implications of all this.

Two years ago, then Mayor Michael Bloomberg started the Center for Active Design in New York City, promoting “Active buildings: encouraging greater physical movement within buildings for users and visitors.” This is something we're going to have to think about for our homes, particularly with the advent of smart technology where you only lift a finger to operate an app that talks to your fridge and the robot cooking your food. We know what happened when the extension phone and the TV remote control came into our lives, but this is taking it to a whole new level.

Read more: http://www.mnn.com/your-home/remodeling-design/stories/will-a-smart-home-make-you-fat

Popular posts from this blog

Commercial Automation Leader SOMFY Joins ZigBee

The ZigBee Alliance, a non-profit maintaining and delivering open, global standards for the low-power wireless Internet of Things (IoT), announced that SOMFY has joined the ZigBee Alliance. A world leader in the home and commercial automation market, SOMFY develops, manufactures and distributes products in 58 countries across five continents. From motorized window treatments for residential and commercial buildings to automated outdoor extensions, gates and garage doors, SOMFY provides a complete range of the latest motorized solutions, automatic systems and alarms designed to make daily life easier, safer and more pleasant. Read more: http://virtual-strategy.com/2016/08/09/european-home-and-commercial-automation-leader-somfy-joins-zigbee-alliance-board-of-directors/
Read more

Home automation gets cheaper, smarter, easier

The promise of widely available home automation has been around since "The Jetsons" aired 50 years ago. But until recently, smart- home systems have been pricey and complex, typically requiring professional installation. And few consumers have been aware of the availability of such services or haven't been convinced that they needed them. But in recent years, major consumer service providers — including ADT, Comcast and Vivint — have entered the market, helping promote the concept of home automation and make it more accessible to average consumers. Companies such as Comcast and Vivint now offer basic home-automation systems for less than $500 installed. And Lowe's Iris, which is available for about $300 for a full system, is designed for self-installation. "We definitely see that (home automation) is moving increasingly into the mainstream," said Jonathan Collins, an analyst with ABI Research. Read more: http://www.denverpost.com/ci_22649153/is-smart
Read more

The smart home and a data underclass

Domestic appliance manufacturers and technology companies have big plans for our homes. From remote controlled heating devices such as Nest and Hive to intelligent fridges, smart TVs and connected washing machines, our appliances will become smart, automating many of our everyday tasks. But true to the notion of the internet of everything in which both things and processes are connected, smart devices won’t just eliminate everyday tasks such as supermarket orders, they will also establish new business relationships. Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2015/aug/03/smart-home-data-underclass-internet-of-things
Read more