When it comes to smart home automation, there really isn’t much that can’t be done today. From the moment you wake up in the morning until the last minutes before bed, by issuing a few simple voice commands you can check your schedule for the day, raise and lower the blinds, start a pot of coffee, play the news radio, lock and unlock the door, start a video call and much more.
And as developers continue to introduce new and innovative features, today’s leading smart home devices are becoming easier to use, more efficient and—you guessed it—smarter. With innovation at every turn, what could possibly be improved?
Our hot suggestion: relying on our Wi-Fi networks to run this equipment.
Internet of things and ecosystems
The vast majority of smart home devices require an Internet connection, which is why this class of consumer technology and related peripherals are often referred to as Internet of Things (IoT) components. Although this label can be applied to essential any hardware that has the ability to connect to the Internet, the phrase takes on a new meaning when talking about smart devices.
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That’s because smart home hubs, such as Amazon’s Alexa-powered Echo or Google’s Nest Audio speaker, allow us to build, manage, and customize our own “ecosystems.” Placed under the IoT umbrella, a smart home ecosystem refers to the family of Internet-connected equipment that your smart node (or host device) can control.
In the case of something like Amazon’s Alexa, hub controls also extend to other common hardware used to control and operate smart devices (think phones, tablets, and laptops).
Known compatible with thousands from third-party devices, Amazon’s Echo speaker can use Alexa to control everything from smart locks and cameras to lights and refrigerators.
All of this hardware is enabled and connected together (with the Echo as a leader and other devices as followers) via the Internet, where we get the label IoT. The A-to-B handshake between your Echo speaker and your smart locks and lights is also what’s called an ecosystem.
Why does your smart home need your Wi-Fi?
Our smart devices, especially our smart home hubs, are powered by some pretty impressive technology. Using a process called cloud processing, voice assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant can take our commands (spoken or via an app), process what we asked for or received instructions by communicating with an external server, and then deliver the result through the appropriate channel.
In the case of a simple question (“OK, Google, when is Shawshank Redemption exiting?”), Google Assistant will use the Google search engine (appropriate channel) to provide the answer.
For a command like “Alexa, dim the lights by 50%”, the Echo Dot communicates with your smart lights (the corresponding channel) to dim the living room.
Cloud processing is also used by our smart devices to do things like remember our voices, recognize our faces and make product suggestions.
In order for cloud processing to occur, smart home devices need an Internet connection to communicate with many external servers (“the cloud”) that act as the brains for tools like Alexa and Siri.
When developing IoT hardware, smart device companies can count on most homes and businesses having Wi-Fi to power their technology. While other wireless protocols such as Bluetooth Low Energy and Zigbee (more on Bluetooth later) are great alternatives to Wi-Fi, it’s generally smarter for developers to design their products around protocols that most consumers will actively use.
In addition, product developers are always introducing changes and improvements to Internet-connected devices through firmware and software updates. These updates rely on an Internet connection to manually or automatically download the update itself.
The downside of relying on Wi-Fi for your smart tech
Google
Wi-Fi is the gold standard for smart home technology, enabling components to run largely smoothly, both for on-site and off-site processing. But here’s the problem: a large number of smart devices will not perform even the most basic commands without an Internet connection.
Do you own a smart speaker or display? Without an internet connection, these devices are basically moot. Sure, you’ll be able to stream music via Bluetooth or by directly wiring your phone to the device, but the idea behind smart speakers and displays is easy and convenient content access and automation.
When it comes to a simple command like remotely locking or unlocking a smart lock, it’s a bit ridiculous to think that if your lock isn’t connected to the internet, you won’t be able to unlock your device via the companion app (or a compatible hub app).
While we’re aware that other wireless standards like Bluetooth are used alongside Wi-Fi, the web connection is the dominant gateway between your smart device and everything it can do.
So we’d like to propose something rather drastic: smart home developers should start designing products that don’t require an internet connection.
Here’s an overview of what we think working without the Internet can improve, as well as a few obstacles we foresee for an age where the Internet of Things world may be no more.
Increased security for you and yours
As mentioned in the above explanation of cloud processing, smart device commands are usually handled externally before the actual processing result is delivered to your ecosystem. But even devices that manage processes locally (without connecting to the cloud) sometimes do so via the power of your Internet connection, making wired or broadcast bandwidth still prone to hacking.
Hacking is a significant problem for all internet-connected devices, and the most skilled intruders have the ability to access personal information, photos, videos, documents, and even live camera feeds. Even with some of the strongest web encryption in place, an ultra-dedicated hacker will inevitably find a way.
If smart product developers moved away from Internet hardware, companies would remove one of the riskiest paths between your user data and the prying eyes of hackers.
Functionality when we need and want it the most
Imagine equipping your RV or boat with smart devices, but you need mobile data to make these devices work. While it’s smart for frequent travelers to pay for some sort of mobile data hub for mobile internet on the go, this isn’t a peripheral everyone should rely on.
There’s also the simple fact that not every smart device will work well with a mobile hub. Even for those that do, your device’s performance will be hampered by the amount of data your hub can attract geographically — which can be a real pain for our maritime readership.
The same goes for those bloated community networks you sometimes find in RV parks. Considering the number of families connected to these often password-less connections, you’ll be lucky if you can get the Echo Dot to even tell you what time of day it is. And think about the security risk of wide open Wi-Fi!
Allowing smart devices to handle multiple commands locally will allow basic on/off commands for locks, lights, and cameras to work where we need those features most. Because, let’s face it: Who wants to be in an unfamiliar zip code without the ability to check a live feed from a camera (either the camper or your home) or ask Alexa to contact 911?
Extensions for existing technologies
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Spending time figuring out how to make equipment work without Wi-Fi could lead to more ingenuity in developing existing technologies to adapt products without Wi-Fi.
For example, let’s say Amazon has to wake up tomorrow and figure out how to make Echo products work without an internet connection.
Well, the first thing he would probably do is try and somehow make the Amazon Sidewalk as far-reaching and comprehensive as possible.
An existing community networking tool that uses Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and 900MHz radio frequencies, the idea behind Amazon Sidewalk is to provide smart devices with a safety net to operate in the event of a neighborhood internet outage and give a big performance boost in areas where web connectivity is not so good. strong.
Let’s say Amazon spent more time developing the scope of Sidewalk’s BLE capabilities: What if developers figured out a way to tap into our phones’ Bluetooth that would turn our mobile devices into roaming and trusted gateways for smart products?
Sure, our phones can do things like allow us to remotely unlock our doors when we’re in range, but other companion app features, like checking lock history and generating entry codes for guests, usually require Wi-Fi.
What if those additional capabilities could be accessed using only Bluetooth, or an entirely new type of wireless standard?
A mixed bag of entry-level affordability and performance
Imagine the first wave of completely Wi-Fi-free smart products hitting shelves tomorrow, and one of the first items you can buy is an Echo speaker that combines some sort of cellular data processing with Amazon Sidewalk BLE and 900MHz capabilities.
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Well, we’re guessing that while the design and engineering of this new Echo negates the need for typical network peripherals (which means cheaper manufacturing for the manufacturer), including a new mobile data chip may cost consumers more upfront, or even monthly, if you’re going to have to pay for data like you would pay for traditional mobile data.
Furthermore, we assume that during the first generation there will be a lot of bugs that need to be fixed. So while it might be great to take your Echo on the go, it might be that certain streaming services run a little slower than usual, or maybe Alexa has trouble searching the web, depending on what part of the country you’re in. .
Or worst of all: Let’s say tomorrow’s hackers discover a way to compromise Amazon Sidewalk or Amazon’s new data roaming capabilities.
Wi-Fi has been around a lot longer than any kind of new and experimental wireless networking, which means Amazon developers may need more time to figure out how to beef up security measures to stop those pesky malcontents in their digital tracks.
Enjoy the present, hope for the future
As it stands, smart devices that require an internet connection will remain the norm for at least the foreseeable future – and for a number of good reasons. After all, the Internet is easy to design products for, relatively easy to troubleshoot when things go wrong (both locally and externally), and widely available when it’s time to roll out improvements (those glorious firmware updates).
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t start preparing for a world where the latest smart technology can perform basic and even more advanced functions using an upgraded form of an existing wireless protocol or something entirely new and revolutionary.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn