Most of us have been in this situation. You’re halfway to meeting your friends, then you suddenly ask yourself, “Did I remember to turn the lights off?” For those with “smart homes”, however, this wouldn’t be a problem.
Over the last few years, smart home technology has become more popular. Thanks to user-friendly products like intelligent lighting and heating controllers, people can control nearly every electrical item in their homes from anywhere in the world.
“All of our light switches are controllable via our phones and computers. Our home security system, our TV and our heating and cooling controls are all controllable too,” said Mike Poulson, 35, a senior program manager from Seattle, US, whose home even greets him and his family when they enter.
While smart homes aren’t new, companies like Philips, Amazon and Xiaomi have finally brought automation to everyday people with affordable products like artificial intelligence (AI, 人工智慧) speakers and sensors (感應器).
“The obvious message is that you can stop wasting energy,” Tom Kerber, director of research for US-based digital company Parks Associates, told the Guardian.
And the technology also has more meaningful uses. In Norway, for example, one company is using smart tech to make life easier for its elderly customers. Abilia’s system allows carers to check up on patients through a tablet on a wall inside their home.
Taking care of ourselves
The device (裝置) sends patients reminders about tasks, such as when they need to take medication. It can even tell carers if there’s any unusual activity in the home that could be life-threatening.
“This kind of system allows people to take care of themselves, which is the most important thing,” Abilia’s vice president, Oystein Johnsen, told the BBC.
“It also saves the government money. In Norway, it costs 1 million kroner (0.8 million yuan) per year to have someone in a care home. This system costs 15,000 kroner a year.”
So, for those who have already “gone smart”, will it ever be possible to go back to doing things the old-fashioned way?
“I think it would be difficult. When we go to a friend’s house or on vacation we find ourselves expecting the house to do things for us that ours does,w” Poulson explained.
“It would be like going back to a world without cellphones. Not impossible, just different.”
【本文作者：徐州七中 彭向梅 。(公眾號：草根英語行思教)】
本文為原創文章，版權歸作者所有，未經授權不得轉載!
