4 Significant Ways Connected Cars Can Change Our Lives at Home
In almost every article concerning smart homes, you’re likely to stumble upon connected cars, as well.
Why is that?
Because they are both parts of the Internet of Things dynamic. Ultimately, IoT is about facilitating everything which is related to our daily routine and integrating all day-to-day operations within a centralized system. This system could be your smartphone. Or your car’s touchpad-activated dashboard, ideally.
The smart home apps on it would ideally create a smart hub which coordinates all the home functions in such a way you’d have the impression you never really lose control of your home. That’s because you’d have everything at hand, at all times of the day, every location you’ll find yourself in.
So along the following lines, I’m going to dwell on this subject – 4 ways connected cars will be integrated into and have an effect on our lives at home.
1. Voice Recognition
Voice is and will be the link between people’s cars and homes, so the more accurate voice recognition becomes, the more refined the commands of the connected car driver will be.
This year in February, Amazon made an important step in this direction when their smart voice assistant, Alexa, was made available for car environment, as well.
This major step was enabled by Amazon’s switch from the confines of Amazon Echo and Amazon Dot to Alexa Voice Services.
This enables a much wider field of operations.
Logitech’s ZeroTech dashboard device has already adopted Alexa, thus offering future users the opportunity to command the virtual assistant just like they would at home.
Beyond managing shopping lists, music, audiobooks or online purchases, this dashboard tackles home-related functions. For instance, you could take care of urgent issues occurring at home just upon maneuvering the Alexa dashboard.
Of course, all these facilities are available provided the car is equipped with solid Internet connection. Nevertheless, automakers like Ford, Volkswagen, Hyundai and Volvo are willing to adopt and further develop this tech.
2. Less Waste
Smart fridges could be easily managed from the car, thus helping homeowners develop much better home management patterns.
One could, for instance, get ‘leftovers notifications’ which remind the user to take those into consideration for their meals. Or, one could also check their fridge supplies before making buying decisions on their way home, from the car.
This way, overstuffing food deposits can be avoided, which further leads (in the long run) to less food waste and smarter financial management.
3. Geofencing
Geofencing technology inside a connected car means, once your car approached the home, certain appliances would start to activate.
This implies you’ve previously set certain commands within the home control system.
Indeed, it’s a fanciful scenario that you get home from work and you won’t lose time with chores which can be easily dealt with from your car’s dashboard (like dishwashing, lights control or air conditioning).
4. Full Home Control
The interest to link homes to cars is coming from the smart home industry, as well.
This is well illustrated by smart home app providers who develop their services with a clear intention of extensively partnering with automakers in the future.
There are a plethora of commodities they intend to make available for smart drivers. Among these, we can count:
- lights control
- garage door command
- locks
- thermostat
- remote door control
- water leak detection
- small appliances energy management.
All the above will soon be included in connected vehicles touchpads menus, allowing for the driver to be constantly notified and in control of their home.
Connected Cars and Smart Home – Final Thoughts
Not only are connected cars innovations intending to meet drivers’ needs, but they are quite sure to start anticipating some of these needs.
To be sure, increased control over one’s home straight from their car looks like a welcome commodity. It remains to be seen whether the cybersecurity aspect of this whole tech tour de force can be fully ensured, as well.
Until then, we’re sure witnessing an intensive process which leads to a significant shift in daily life comfort. What is your stance on this topic? Feel free to voice your opinions in the comments section and hopefully start a conversation on this resourceful topic.