Smart home: the basics of technology and its advantages

Automatic control of home devices in a smart home is no longer an invention of movies about the future, but an inescapable reality that major tech players such as Apple, Google, GE or Microsoft are taking seriously. This market is estimated to be worth tens of billions of dollars. Smart homes promise not only security and convenience, but also savings for owners.

Basics of automation algorithms

The principle of home automation is simple. The heart of the system is the control unit, which sends a user signal to the appropriate controllers and peripheral sensors. The user can set appropriate parameters that trigger spontaneous operation of devices, such as temperature or sunlight, or control them manually. The signal can be a voice command or come from a mobile device: a tablet or smartphone equipped with the appropriate software.

The next step into the future is a truly smart home. It will collect and process various data to perform more complex sequences of actions that require human intervention today. We can already communicate with the house from anywhere in the world. And most importantly, if necessary, our house will contact us.

Reliable communications

Although the idea of a smart home for most of us comes to mind when transferring data between devices via Wi-Fi, there are currently several data transfer protocols on the market between individual system elements, both physically and wirelessly, which are the core of the future Internet.

One of these methods is communication protocols designed for home automation. Among the most frequently mentioned:

MimiSmart
X10,
ZigBee,
Z-Wave
Insteon and others.

The fact is that these protocols consume less power and bandwidth than well-known Wi-Fi, but to connect different types (including wireless), you need a gateway and a hub that will allow a harmonious flow of data between them.

SMS technologies

What if the Internet ends for some reason? Then the solution may be to exchange SMS messages. The technology behind SMS has not changed significantly since its inception in the 1990s, but platforms that facilitate automatic message delivery have evolved. Today, text messages can be integrated with any software, system, or application that is also designed for home automation.

When it comes to choosing the world’s most common communication technology between smart home devices, the last word has not yet been said. None of the market giants has yet managed to present a solution that would be profitable enough to outshine the others. Until this happens, customers will choose from a wide range of applications, guided by the specific needs and specifics of their smart home.