Home automaton invasion, Convenience might be convincing
As a boy of about 12, I had a (fairly hypothetical) science based book which liked to guess what might be around the corner. For example, it suggested that by the year 2000 we'd all be riding levitating trains everywhere. It also said we'd be living in eco-friendly homes covered in solar panels. Those homes would also be centrally controlled of course, perhaps by voice or a remote.
All of this was fascinating to me and perhaps helped fan the flames of my passion for technology. But although maglev trains and solar panel roofs now exist, the day of home automation is just starting to dawn. It'll be here soon, though, and this year's CES proved it. Tech companies are hell bent on automating a large proportion of our homes, gifting over to mechanical counterparts actions we've happily been carrying out for generations, alongside things we simply cannot do. It's as if the industry has resolved that what's needed is a cross-industry project that everyone can get their teeth into. Leave nobody behind. We'd all be better off in such a reality where blinds self-adjust, light settings are automated, and doors seemingly have minds of their own. Wouldn't we?
Being Able
It was when I was reading various news reports and CES press releases, that I realized I was growing somewhat resistant. Perhaps we all have our limits of what we allow tech to take hold of, but almost immediately I found myself wondering quite what I was so wary for. Having spent 30 years on this planet - and a fair amount of that time enthralled with new arrivals - why would this proposed future be any less positive? I'm certainly not against progress: I delight in lightning quick broadband, HD displays, and I think that li-fi (data connections through LED bulbs) is a touch of genius.
However, all of these allow us to do and experience more. I suppose then what I don't like is things being done for me that I could reasonably do myself. For example, I've never owned a dishwasher, because I actually enjoy doing the dishes. Strange I know, but it gives me a break from heavy screen use, allows my brain some down time and reminds me that so-called 'menial' work is a testament to the brilliance of fine motor skills. While engaging in such activity I might even subconsciously process a work problem I'm focused on. Alternatively, I might dream of sipping something through a garish straw while sitting on a beach.
I am, of course, a person who enjoys his Nexus tablet and one who sees the benefit of his smartphone. But I'm also a person who avoids automatic doors in shopping centres, preferring to earn my entry through exertion. I certainly don't like to make life harder for myself, but I do like to feel capable.
Do I Need that?
With all this in mind, I find myself in uncertain territory. Recently, I read a press release for Belkin's WeMo range of smart LED bulbs. I read and considered it with an odd mixture of ambivalence and interest. On one side, I sense that Belkin's self-dimming lights are an indicator of the sort of creeping invasion which means self-locking doors might menacingly slam behind us. On the other side of things, WeMo is clearly useful for those who are less mobile in their homes (and those who aren't home but would like it to appear so). For sure, the case for the need of these types of products is convincing in specific instances, but is the case for greater prevalence as appealing?
Undoubtedly the idea of being able to control such things from a smartphone - the position increasingly occupied - is quite smart. However, necessity is another thing. And if smartphones could be attacked for deteriorating social interaction, I worry that they might be for a lack of physical interaction too. Such fears might be unfounded. Anyway, technology companies seem not to be dissuaded; the home automation revolution seems likely not to be stopped.
Nest Easy
January brought news that Google acquired a company call Nest. And when Google buys a company, it's usually for one of two reasons: either it's (a) throwing financial power behind a brand that is untouchable (YouTube) or it's (b) betting it can advance a well-regarded and established player (Motorola). So its approximate £1.8bn acquisition left few observers very surprised.
In Nest's own words, "We take what's familiar and look at it in a new light. Our team focuses on making technology that's simple, fresh and helpful." This 'technology' includes products like thermostats, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors, all well worth monitoring regularly. Sara Watson, of Harvard's Berkman Center for internet and Security, sees more in Nest. Speaking to New Scientist, Watson has explained, "Nest has always been a company that's been interested not just in devices but also the data and algorithms behind them." Sound familiar? Google's fondness for algorithms is hardly a secret.
Meanwhile, Nest founder and CEO Tony Fadeil let on to Forbes that his company had agreed deals with North American utility providers. Those deals have enabled Nest to manage the energy usage of customers who opted into a "demand-response plan", and gives a hint of the sort of insight Google will hold. This is 'smart' energy supply, using data about availability, user demand and actual use. Better provision of energy (smart energy, perhaps) is surely a good thing. Smart devices (the likes of thermostats, etc.) are no doubt of interest in the Googleplex too. But having a level of data insight is very Google.
Further, the move is the clearest sign yet of where things are heading. Google seemingly wants to be the bedrock of connected services, providing products and power. Yet while the shift from smart energy supply to global home automation is quite a leap, other companies are already in homes. They've positioned themselves for the coming surge, and the direction seems set.
We've Spoken
So Google is maybe planning for the future, while others are leading the way. And with our blessings too. The evidence speaks, and not all lovers of tech are being jettisoned (Jetson-ed?) into something we've had no say in. I might sit here and decide I'm happy with locking my own doors, opening my own blinds and turning my own lights on and off. Others would disagree. Kickstarter has been proof for a while that 'home automation' is something a proportion of users are actively seeking. It's a collective user goal to know more about our homes, and one of the stand-out beneficiaries is a company called SmartThings.
In 2012, SmartThings smashed its $250,000 Kickstarter funding goal, receiving backing to the tune of $1.2 million (appx £728,000). This represented high amounts of interest in the company vision, but it also lit a large green light. Almost a 'come and deliver your service' plea had been issued. In the present day, SmartThings is striding forward with its desire to connect 'everyday things' to the internet.These things are remotely controlled by our smartphones, of course - the devices that help make home automation an accessible prospect.
Information derived from in-home light, motion and moisture sensors lead the experience. With a central Smart Hub, these sensors are linked to the internet, providing a whole network of in-house information for users to browse at their leisure. But having that information and not being able to use it would be a bit pointless. It's handy, then, that such a setup allows home- owners control of their 'SmartThings' from just down the road or halfway across the world.
SmartThings' mobile apps provide the control points, and as well as monitoring, SmartThings allows direct control. As a user, you could, "lock and unlock your door, turn your lights on and off, and control appliances". First suggested in the Kickstarter video by its founder, Alex Hawkinson, these commands are now practicalities. The SmartThings shop backs such promises with an array of remote locks, sensors and key fobs. These are potentially useful for a variety of things: securing doors, opening windows and relaying the movements of children and family pets.
An Easy Life
Certainly these things can make our lives easier, but also more secure. Some parents might want to be able to ensure the safety of their children. Home owners may want to take a picture of whoever enters their front door or know what the weather is like directly outside. But could this not be all too much?
Between the good ideas and the useful and safety-conscious features that home automation might bring, isn't there a lingering sense of handing over a bit too much of our lives to the control of our smartphones and connected tech? Might some of us, who are perfectly capable, become riled when we awake and our curtains don't open to the specified point, letting the wrong amount of daylight in? What would that say about us? Google may be interested in how and when we're all using our heating (arguably not more worrying than Edward Snowden's revelations), but might any future reliance on connected things be a little concerning?
I don't want to point fingers at just a small amount of companies. It's not just Google and it's not just SmartThings who want our houses more connected. As mentioned, Belkin is interested. So is Archos, and so are other companies you'll have heard of. LG wants us to text our home appliances (fridge, vacuum-robot and dishwasher) with its 'HomeChat' platform. A company called Zonoff is behind retail chain Staples' home automation kit, and a company called Goji has a door lock that welcomes you home. Wal-Mart and Best Buy are both backing our future homes being more connected too.
There's also a company called Ivee, strong in its belief that the Ivee Sleek is something that many of us want to both wake up and come home to. Perhaps it is: a device the promotional video suggests we can ask about the stock exchange, the weather, our thermostat settings and any number of things. Imagine a Siri that controls features of your house, but" because Ivee is internet-connected, she gets smarter every day". That doesn't sound too terrifying. It's not like it might be the starting point for a tech-horror film, in which a family loses control over its own home. Okay, quite over the top, and really such companies seek to provide an excellent service. Answering questions, solving problems and carrying out tasks might be useful. It might make us a bit lazy. Or it might just mean more problems.
At What Cost?
Home automation hasn't reached us all yet, but it's far more accessible than it has ever been. Judging by the raft of incoming technology, we'll be awash in sensors and automated appliances very soon. But is there anything other than the need to not be reliant on technology that might be cause for concern? Unfortunately, yes.
While it's easy to get carried away with notions of 'Skynets' having achieved self-awareness (and honed a great deal of malicious intent), wariness about such highly connected items and homes is important when we pass up control. I recall an anecdote relayed to me once by a Kaspersky researcher on a press trip. He told me about a network-connected coffee-maker that received parameters for its drinks from a server. Hack it and the maker delivers bad coffee. "Everything on the internet," he summarized, "is at risk."
Scaremongering or just plain sensible thinking, he had a point. That was about four years ago, when the 'connected home' simply meant media streaming. Now, in a world where Cisco reports there are seven billion connected devices to our five billion human beings, we had best take note. Not only that, but we should also take precautions. Search Google for internet of things threats', and it's easy to see that home automation isn't all safeness and light. Yes, bad coffee might taste foul, but it's likely to not be the biggest issue.
Writing on the Symantec Connect blog on 21st January, employee Dick O'Brien told of how malware targeting connected devices was in the wild. Specifically, he focused on a worm named Linux.Darlloz, designed to attack systems and chip architectures mostly found in "home routers, set-top boxes, security cameras and industrial control systems”. Darlloz isn't the only threat, of course, and interestingly it's programmed to delete the files of another piece of malware - Linux.Aidra - presumably to better claim device resources for itself. These are just two items of malware with sights set on our devices, and just two which are already fighting for control.
There are likely more out there, and there are certainly more to come. Yet recent history shows there are also more human threats that might seek to ruin the home automation hijinks threats of the type that allowed a hacker to breach Trendnet's online security. When that happened in February 2012, the result was that a few hundred internet-connected camera feeds of unsuspecting home owners were made public.
This somewhat chilling incident might be considered isolated, but that Cisco figure of seven billion connected devices is forecast to reach 50 billion by the end of this decade. That's a lot of potential targets for threats of all kind to take aim at. Now, if we know one thing about cybercriminals, it's that the bigger the target, the more tempting it could become. The devices targeted may make bad coffee, they may open our blinds at a bad time, or they might unlock houses and tamper with smoke or burglar alarms.
Frankly it's speculative, but home automation and connected devices need to be thought about carefully by both buyers and producers - in terms of convenience and making our lives too easy, and in terms of security and making them very hard. Honestly, I like the idea of a voice or remote-controlled, fully connected home. Preferably the nicely designed one in my 'science' book. Perhaps it should come with solar panels endorsed by Google too. But most definitely it should come with a backup set of non-connected devices, a set of traditional metal keys and a manual override switch.
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