3 ways to create a smart home with some help from Google

2014 is the year of big technological advancements. Nowadays, everything is already smart – TVs, phones, cars and even watches. But how about homes?  It feels like homes are not smart enough just yet. If you’ve ever seen the movie Iron Man, you have probably been impressed with Tony Stark’s home. It talks, it shows the weather forecast on the windows and it’s also voice controlled. The movie came out in 2008 and all of this seemed really futuristic back then. Today, we are closer than ever to having homes like this and they are called smart homes.  While this article mentions some of Google’s smarthome innovations, make sure to also check out the ‘Internet of Things‘ website for more cool IO at home technology.

What does Google have to do with all of this you ask? A lot. Google is doing many things including buying big companies to make sure we can start living in our dream homes from the future sooner. Here are some devices and technologies owned by Google that will help you create a smarter home.

Nest

Google recently purchased Nest for $3.2 billion. If you’ve never heard of Nest before, it is a company which makes smart learning thermostats and smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

Apart from the beautiful design, the learning Nest thermostat “learns” your habits and preferences as well as when you’re home and when you’re away in order to control the temperature in your home more efficiently, thus saving you money by using less energy. It’s a great little device that has many other functions. One great benefit is that you can connect it to your smartphone via wi-fi so that you can control the temperature in your home even when you are away.

Flutter

Google also acquired Flutter. The company developed a program that allows you to control your PC with hand gestures. This technology is very similar to the popular Kinect for Xbox. Just imagine the possibilities. You will be able to open and close drapes, control the blinds, your TV and why not even the coffee maker, all by waving your hand. We shall wait and see what Google comes up with but you can bet it’s going to be good.

Chromecast

Chromecast is a nifty little device that only costs $35. It is a USB stick that connects to your TV. Once you connect it to wi-fi it will let you easily send videos from your laptop, phone or tablet directly to your TV in a matter of seconds. The beauty of it is that you don’t even need a remote. You can control everything from the devices you already own.

With more inventions to come like smart contact lenses and mega fast internet, Google is quickly transforming our world and the way we live. What seemed like science fiction some 8 years ago is now a reality. Our homes will inevitably become smarter and Google’s making sure of that. To get more insight on what Google is doing when it comes to smarter homes, check out The Google Smart Home infographic.

Originally posted 2016-03-14 03:35:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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