Each of us has heard about the idea of a modern and intelligent home. Self-closing doors, gates, curtains, lights that turn off when you clap your hands, your favourite song plays after saying its title, one-touch temperature control throughout the house, sensors and tons of other possibilities. Is all this possible or is it just an idealized reality?
Many of the tech companies, instead of focusing on common development and innovative solutions to smart homes for all of them and consumers, create solutions that compete with each other. For example, devices manufactured by Apple for HomeKit are based on a different system and operation than devices distributed by Amazon such as Alexa (Zigbee, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi, Cloud or Bluetooth). Which discourages consumers from using a smart home, because it takes too much time and effort to figure out which devices are compatible with each other and work in conjunction with each other, and eventually give up the whole solution.
“That’s where Matter comes in.”
What is Matter? Previously called Connected Home over IP – CHIP for short is a smart home device system. The operating system is based on the possibility of free communication between technological devices at home to increase security and efficiency of use in everyday life. Over the years, the idea has been joined by corporate giants such as Apple, Amazon, Google, Samsung and also smaller companies.
“The smart home should be a natural evolution of our homes, bringing better appliances, better systems, better experiences.”
Matter wants to meet the expectations of an ideal smart home, all devices designed by the companies participating in the project are to interact with each other without any problems using the application. And all this is coming soon! At the end of 2022, the first devices with their certificate will be introduced. What distinguishes Matter from previous efforts to create a smart home is technology based on IP technology, which means that the solution they use is designed to provide pipelines and language for communication between devices without the need for constant internet access.
It will be a completely different, modern and, above all, effective solution for creating a smart home, meaning development for Google Home, HomeKit and many others.
Sources:
https://www.theverge.com/22787729/matter-smart-home-standard-apple-amazon-google
https://www.theverge.com/22832127/matter-smart-home-products-thread-wifi-explainer
https://mojmac.pl/2021/10/27/czy-matter-traci-na-znaczeniu-nowy-standard-smart-home-w-opalach/amp/
But what about ethical side of products like smart homes? I think for many people the problem is not about figuring out the compatibility of devices, but growing concerns about intrusion of big tech companies producing such goods in their private life. How could we, as future managers, convince these people to buy technology which, indeed, depends a lot on constantly tracking the actions and talking of the consumers?
Your perspective is interesting, but I think one shouldn’t do a job that doesn’t agree with their moral system.
Also, I think privacy already doesn’t exist – a standard smartphone user is bombarded every day by apps and programs that want to find out everything about them, so I’d say a better step would be introducing more regulations.
Personally, I don’t like the trend of smart houses, because I don’t like relying only on technology – in such situations, I always think of the movie I.T., which wasn’t even good but certainly acts on the imagination.
It’s a very interesting subject. Smart homes becoming more and more popular. It’s a matter of time before most of houses and flats will be managed with a smartphone.