ALEXA, WHERE' S MY ROBOT BUTLER?

A machine that does the jobs we don’t want – that’s what was promised to us by the science fiction of the last century. Unfortunately, goof high-tech helps in hard to find - but that's about to change. Jennifer Pettison Touhy reveals how ho our homes are about to start looking after us, and not the other way around

- Jennifer Pettison Touhy

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Most new gadgets get the ‘smart’ moniker slapped on the side of the box, but are we getting any closer to a truly smart home?

“People don’t want a smarter home, they want a better home,” says Jamie Siminoff, founder of one of the smart home’s most recognisable brands, the Ring video doorbell. Siminoff invented the gadget to see who was at his front door when he was working in his garage.

To date, the smart home has been most successful when it presents a simple solution to a tricky problem and when it makes something just, well, better.

A smart thermostat that remembers to turn the heat down when you go out; a connected lock you can unlock remotely to let your nan in when you’re running late; a robotic vacuum cleaner to do the floors when you can’t be bothered… These are all top inventions, but is that really the future of our homes? Can’t they be any smarter?

Yes, they can.

Over the next decade, smart connected technology in our homes will transition from being a novelty and nice-to-have to a necessity.

The most profound improvements will come from the ways in which this smart tech can free up our money, energy, and most importantly our time. In other words, our homes will start taking care of us all.

Ten years ago, there were no video doorbells, no Amazon Alexa or Apple Siri voice assistants, and the Nest Learning Thermostat was still a good three months out from being unleashed on an unsuspecting public. The smart home was still just something for the uber rich or those who really liked to clap their hands – even the iPhone was still a toddler.

In the ensuing decade, innovation has proceeded at a breakneck pace, and our homes are moving from analogue to digital in what feels like the blink of an eye.