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SMART HOME

TECH FEATURE

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GET SMART! continued

Safe and secure Smart homes offer cost effective security solutions. Indoor and outdoor cameras give you 24/7 monitoring and send alerts and live feed video to your phone (see page 24), while video doorbells reveal who’s come calling and let you chat to visitors via two-way talk. And when it’s time to head off on holiday, whether you’re cruising the Mediterranean or visiting relatives interstate, you can keep an eye on your property anytime from your phone, and schedule indoor and outdoor lights to switch on after dark.

Getting started Smart home tech is now more plentiful and affordable than ever – there are devices to suit all budgets. So, where do you start? Automated living can begin with a single Wi-Fi-enabled light bulb or smart plug – the foundation on which to build your smart home. Think of it as a tech renovation and decide what parts of the home you want to smarten up according to your budget and space, and then construct it incrementally.

tandem to optimise settings by load type and volume, and cycles can be scheduled or started remotely. Robot vacuums traverse floors and carpets to free you from the household task that everyone hates, while robot mowers and watering timers take care of the garden. Let your smart appliances handle the mundane domestic chores while you attend to the more important stuff and enjoy some leisure time. Now all we need is tech that will scrub the bathroom!

Smart sensors for doors and windows are an inexpensive way to begin beefing up home security, along with motion sensors that will trigger lights and cameras. System smarts Smart home devices come with their own app, but fortunately you don’t need to constantly switch between multiple apps to control each one with your voice when they are all connected together within a single ecosystem or hub. The three major players in this space are Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Apple HomeKit (Siri). You’re probably already using one of these virtual assistants, so choosing an ecosystem is relatively easy. You don’t necessarily need to stick to the same brand, however. Many smart home devices support more than one system and can all work together, and those that support the Matter wireless connectivity standard (see page 14) will solve any compatibility problems.

Setting up If the extent of your IT skills is browsing the web and checking social media, the good news is that smart home devices and appliances are generally designed to be user friendly, and that includes installation and connection.

However, some DIY – and a screwdriver – can be required for attaching brackets and mounting security cameras. Whatever your lifestyle, smart home devices can be easily programmed and customised to suit your needs, with set-and forget convenience. Coffee machine set to brew when

Speaking of leisure time, you can also smarten up your entertainment space. Get

DYK?

easy access to all the popular streaming apps with a smart TV (see page 32); connect a chain of smart speakers for multi-room audio; and use

The first official smart home device was the Echo IV (Electronic Computing Home Operator), a prototype computer – comprising four big cabinets – developed in 1966 for home automation.

smart lighting to set the mood for parties and movie nights and sync them to react to the sound. Whatever you want to simplify or enhance around the home, there’s likely

it’s time to get up; lights on and garage door open when you pull into the driveway; and TV and lights off when you say “Goodnight”. For a handy guide to setting up a smart home in six easy steps, see page 10. Smart stuff Where to begin? The variety of devices and appliances that support smart tech has now grown to encompass virtually every area of the home, from lighting and security to the laundry, kitchen, and garden. There’s even tech for your pets – did you know that a cat’s litter box can be smart? Smart fridges can have inbuilt cameras so you can check the contents while at the supermarket, and also generate shopping lists based on what’s inside! Smart washers and dryers can work in

to be a bit of smart tech that can help.

NOVEMBER 2023

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