The Smart Home

In this installment of our blog, we’re going to talk about Amazon Echo, a brand of smart speakers developed by Amazon.com. The devices connect to the voice-controlled intelligent personal assistant service Alexa, which has a very Scarlett Johansson ‘Her’ allure. Also, Star Trek – Discovery premiered less than a month ago. Why is this important? Because Jeff Bezos (founder, chairman, and CEO of Amazon) is a huge fan. You might be wondering how this is connected to our smarthome technology blog – but first a quick show of hands: Who here has ever thought about how convenient the Starship Enterprise conversational system was? Yeah, us too. Well, since September, if you ask your Echo wireless speaker Alexa for a Damage Report , Alexa will give you a rundown of the weather and latest news headlines. Not only this; Alexa will speak Klingon upon request (!). If you haven’t been following up until this point, no need to worry. Alexa is Amazon’s voice-activated assistant, ...

Smart Homes are not only about fancy and specific devices anymore. Everyone somehow lives in a smart home today. Do you have a playing console at home? Then your home is probably already smart! Gaming devices such as the Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 4 or the XBOX 1 incorporate smart home features you would never have thought of! The Nintendo Wii, for example, is one of the most popular Video gaming consoles worldwide.   Not only can you play with or against your friends- nowadays a Nintendo Wii can serve as a smart assistant! The console allows you to dim the lights in your living room or to control the temperature in your house with your game controller. You also have the possibility to stream surveillance videos via Wii. This function replaces the old-fashioned babyphone.   Speaking of surveillance - watching what is going on in your house is a very hot topic when it comes to smart homes. The video and cloud surveillance platform Smartvue ad...

One of the main concerns of many people whose elderly relatives refuse to go into a nursing home or receive assistance is the possibility that something might happen to them and they will be incapable of asking for help. From falling, or getting assaulted, to not detecting a gas leak or having to get up and down flights of stairs… Growing old is a challenge that many wish to face alone so as to not give up their independence. And whilst it is widely believed that elderly people and technology should not mix, we at Smart Home Weekly think otherwise. Smart home technology can be our biggest ally when it comes to taking care of the people we love the most. Smart smoke alarms  could potentially save the day for any person who is no longer able to smell, whereas the Ring Video Doorbell will send notifications to those who cannot hear their buzzer. We’ve also found the Tricella Smart Pillbox especially appealing: it se...