Technology and smart devices are radically transforming the home. As your clients take control over their houses' systems via voice activation, dash buttons, and other smart-home technology, Forbes.com asked its Technology Council to offer up some of their predictions on how homes will evolve in the near future.
Less clutter. Information can be stored in smaller devices, which means fewer file cabinets and the like. Some owners may even opt for much smaller houses due to this trend, says Chalmers Brown with Due.
Voice-activated interfaces. The voice is expected to drive smart-home technology control over the next five to 10 years. This will make smart homes less complex to operate, says Leon Hounshell with Greenwave Systems.
Smartphones as the central hub. The smartphone likely will become the remote control to manage all elements of a smart home, says Arash Asli with Yocale. This will include everything from lights to appliances to cooling and heating systems to security and more.
No more control panels. Since the smartphone will become a remote control for many elements of the home, expect fewer panels inside the home, such as thermostats, electronic dials like on washing machines or dishwashers, or even light switches, says Andrew Kucheriavy with Intechnic.
Source: “Reality or Science Fiction? How Your House Will Change in the Next Few Years,” Forbes.com (Feb. 14, 2017)