Technologies abound that can make homes smarter, intuitive, and more functional. Smart-home products can control almost everything from the heat and air conditioning to lighting, entertainment centers, and security systems. And, of course, all are connected to the internet and controlled on site or remotely via smartphone, tablet, etc.
Most people build up a nice collection of electronic devices that perform individual functions, each with their own set of controls and limits when it comes to integrating with the homeowner’s dream scheme of how the home should work. Briefly put, with the proliferation of all these intelligent gizmos, it would be wiser and more fruitful to build a home around these technologies, so they work together seamlessly to make life easier. In other words, a thoughtful home versus just a smart home.
To make a human analogy, there are a lot of smart people, but not all are very thoughtful. For instance, the recent recipient of a Ph.D. in Peanut Butter Philosophy (mankind’s quest for smooth versus crunchy), who walks into people on the street because he or she is facedown to a smartphone. This person has a piece of paper that testifies to a certain level of smartness but is not being very thoughtful to his or her fellow humans and surroundings.
That same analogy can be made to the so-called smart home. All the devices work well, as they should, and smart in that they can adapt to environmental conditions based on preset controls. However, they rarely, if ever, work together in a thoughtful, or intuitive nature based on the lifestyle and personal quirks of those in residence to make life simpler. In other words, one size does not fit all.
Is the creation of a “thoughtful home” based on those qualities possible? According to Wendy Kam of Google Business Development, the answer is yes. Okay, if so, how can it be done? Again, the answer is extremely simple.
At Sensors Expo & Conference 2019 on Wednesday June 26, from 10 am to 10:50 am PST, the session titled “The Future of the Intelligent Interactions” will provide attendees with the solutions they need to rein in the power of smart-home devices to create the “thoughtful homes” of the future. The session, which is part of the “Sensors in an AI Universe” educational track, will be presented by an expert on the topic, Ms. Wendy Kam.
Wendy heads up Assistant partnerships at Google Business Development. She is focusing on the Smart Home and managing global partners that are part of the Works With the Assistant ecosystem. Previously, she led Google partnership efforts across Shopping and Payments.
Prior to Google, Wendy led global partnership at Visa and was an investment banker in Hong Kong and New York covering technology and financial services clients. She holds a BBA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.
This will be Ms. Kam’s first visit to Sensors Expo & Conference. In addition to her presentation, she is looking forward to “The opportunity to meet with partners and understand the activities relating to sensors.”
In her session, Wendy will be discussing “The future of intelligent interaction and Smart Home. Future products will take advantage of ambient computing and contextual awareness to provide users with intelligent interaction models throughout the home. This approach must leverage an expertise in machine learning and artificial intelligence to rethink how users will interact with their environments in the future.” In this session she hopes, “attendees leave with an understanding of how to create a thoughtful home that takes care of the people inside it and the world around it.”
Conclusion: if you are involved with smart-device design, deployment, integration, and control, as well as machine learning, artificial intelligence, HMI, communications, networking, and the ever popular IoT, it will be in your best interest to attend this session. Of course, to do so, you need to burn two calories. One, register for Sensors Expo, and two, attend the “The Future of the Intelligent Interactions” as well as some of the other educational resources in the Sensors in an AI Universe track. You’re not going to burn those calories if you are still sitting here! Go, register, learn, ……. and innovate. ~MD