With the new technologies currently developing, everything indicates that we are on the verge of quietly entering an era where a new form of communication will dawn, a dialogue between a person’s smart home and their connected car.
This means that from his car, a user will be able to interact remotely with his house and control certain devices, a communication which will also be done in the other direction since from his house, the user will also be able to control certain devices of his vehicle. In tech lingo, this is called “home-to-car” and “car-to-home” services.
At least it is on this avenue that the automobile companies Kia, Hyundai and Tesla have recently embarked, which concluded a collaboration agreement with the firm Samsung, the latter providing them with an application called SmartThings. But what will this app have more than others?
In fact, this platform already exists, but for the good of these three automobile manufacturers, we have extended its possibilities so that users will soon have the possibility of controlling household appliances in their home from their car, provided whether they own a Kia, Hyundai or Tesla vehicle, of course.
Conversely, from their car, the user can activate the robot vacuum cleaner in their house so that everything is clean when they arrive, turn on the lights to see clearly when entering the house or even control their charger. electric battery or its air conditioning system. Even if you prefer, the air conditioning could be turned on automatically when the car is so many kilometers from home.
Another useful feature not to be disdained: at any time, from their cell phone, the user can find out about the charge and remaining range of their electric vehicle. So many tips that will allow people to manage their energy more efficiently since, using notifications, they will be informed of the energy used by the television, tablet or any other device. The user can even manage their charges so that they are carried out at specific times during the day, based on pricing or carbon footprint, for example. On certain devices, with the addition of a function called Storm Watch, the user can also be alerted in anticipation of an extreme weather phenomenon, which will allow them to prepare for a possible power outage.
All this remotely. In the car, the user will simply operate their vehicle’s infotainment system using touch and voice commands. Conversely, from home, he will be able to control his car from smart speakers, or from his TV remote control or an application on his cell phone.
To date, the service is in an embryonic stage of development, but automakers Kia and Hyundai have made it clear that they will soon design infotainment systems to enable the service. They also specify that for those who already own a connected vehicle, updates will be offered to allow them to benefit from the new features.
Although Samsung has never previously announced partnerships with automotive brands regarding this technology, the possibility of controlling your smart home from the car is not a complete novelty. BMW users already have the possibility to control Bosch Smart Home devices using the operating system of this German brand. In addition, all devices that are associated with Apple CarPlay also provide access to Apple’s “HomeKit” set, which has drivers capable of making requests to Siri. In particular, we can ask him to turn off the lights or open the garage door without even having to use the car’s infotainment system. Android Auto also offers these possibilities.
So many technologies that demonstrate the extent to which we are moving into an era where cars will be part of our digital way of life. We might as well say that in the future, the car will practically become an extension of the house.
All that remains is to hope that manufacturers will remain reasonable and will not offer these services at exorbitant prices that will only reach the privileged of this world. We will have a clear vision of what the future holds for us with this technology. Time will tell.
