Wednesday, November 10, 2010

The Future of Internet Connected Appliances



Why should my washing machine be connected to the Internet? Why should any appliance be apart of your home network? In this day and age it seems like everything has a WiFi chip in it. The truth is you will start seeing even more WiFi enabled devices as the technology improves. The benefits of such connectivity are becoming more and more recognizable.

Next Generation Devices
If your refrigerator can email your phone while you are at the grocery store and tell you that you are out of milk you might be able to save some gas money and the hassle of going back out. If your oven is connected to your network it could start preheating to the correct temperature when you pull up a recipe on your iPad or your refrigerator could pull up a list of recipes based on what you have inside. HVAC systems can also benefit from connectivity. They would become smart and be able to prepare for colder or warmer temperatures in the forcast. Laundry systems could use energy more efficiently by waiting until off peek hours to use electricity.

Futuristic Connected House
A less practical but totally futuristic feature could be a simple twitter client built into a toaster or a microwave. This feed or your email or stock prices could follow you around the house and show up on any device that has WiFi and a screen. You could even watch your favorite tv as you are getting ready in the morning - it simply follows you around the house. If these devices have built in web cams you could video chat unobtrusively from anywhere in your house. Your electric car could also be connected and it could preheat before your morning commute or it could download your favorite podcast before you leave.

For more information check out LG's SmartHome system

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