From smart homes to connected cars, new tools of domestic abuse … – Prince George Citizen

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VANCOUVER — A phone, a smart home, a digitally connected car — these are the tools of digital domestic abuse that anti-violence experts say is on the rise.

VANCOUVER — A phone, a smart home, a digitally connected car — these are the tools of digital domestic abuse that anti-violence experts say is on the rise. 

“Methods that are sort of presented as advances in technology, whether it’s a smart home or a smart car, are just another method of surveillance that can be used to harass survivors in a variety of different ways,”said Amy FitzGerald, executive director at the BC Society of Transition Houses.

“Oftentimes, whatever gets reported might sound a little far fetched, but it turns out to be true.”

Intimate partner violence in Canada has been referred to as a “shadow pandemic,” intensifying during COVID-19 as lockdowns limited victims’ ability to leave abusive partners.

A Statistics Canada report, released on Oct. 19, shows police-reported family violence increased for the fifth consecutive year in 2021, with a total of 127,082 victims. This amounts to a rate of 336 victims per 100,000 people. On average, every six days a woman is killed by an intimate partner, the agency said.

Rhiannon Wong, technology safety project manager at Women’s Shelters Canada, warns that digital forms of intimate partner violence also began increasing in 2020, as technology became more integrated into everyday life amid the physical isolation of the pandemic.

“Perpetrators are using technology as another tool for their old behaviours of power and control, abuse and violence,” she said.

Abusers can track their partners in real-time, post harmful content online with little chance of removal, or impersonate, harass or threaten partners through a variety of technologies, she said.

While “it can be very powerful evidence in court,” Wong said technology is most often used as a “continuation of violence,” ensuring the abuser’s omnipresence and making it difficult for victims to escape, even when they aren’t physically present. 

Retired Victoria police sergeant Darren Laur is the chief training officer at White Hatter, an internet safety and digital literacy education company.

He says the company helped a woman whose former partner would remotely take control of her smart home.

“During the summer, he would turn the heat up, during the winter, (he) would turn the air conditioning on. He was able to turn power on open doors, open windows, all remotely because the home was a smart home.”

Laur also warned about abusers tracking the location of a victim’s vehicle using a cellphone app.

“Now your abuser knows exactly where you’re going or where you’re at, so if you’ve gone to a transition house, they now know exactly where you’re located.”

In August 2021, the BC Society of Transition Houses surveyed anti-violence programs across the province. Out of 137 respondents, 89 per cent said women they worked with had disclosed some form of technology-facilitated abuse.

“Harassment has been ranked the most popular form of tech-related violence that increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic,” the newly released report said. 

Angela Marie MacDougall, executive director of Battered Women Support Services, said “technology is baked into each and every” case the organization sees, but policy and laws have not kept up with digital advancements.

“If we understand that reporting to the police is very challenging, and already there’s huge limitations in terms of how effective the police can be, when we add the issue around technology, it’s even harder,” she said. </…….

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“Matter” could solve smart homes’ biggest problem – Axios

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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

The halcyon day when all our smart home devices talk to one another — and reduce our energy bills — took a giant step forward Thursday with the introduction of Matter, a widely-backed connectivity standard.

Why it matters: Many consumers are leery of buying Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices such as smart light bulbs, blinds and door locks, fearing they’re hard to set up or won’t work with one another.

  • Matter is supposed to make setup a snap — and solve interoperability problems among different manufacturers’ products.

Driving the news: In a splashy announcement, the consortium developing Matter said it had formally released version 1.0, and that hundreds of products were being certified — ensuring that we’ll start seeing the “Matter” logo on shelves soon.

  • More than 300 companies are on board so far, including powerful backers like Amazon, Apple, Google and Samsung, with more signing up by the day.
  • 190 products are already Matter-certified (or close).

How it works: Customers will be able to mix and match smart home products from different manufacturers — robotic vacuums, light switches, doorbells, thermostats, appliances, entertainment systems, etc. — and Matter will (ideally) ensure that they all talk to one another.

  • At Matter’s press conference, Marja Koopmans, Amazon’s director of health and smart home, described her current smart home setup: “The lights turn on when I come down in the morning, and they turn off when we as a family check in.”
  • Thanks to Alexa, “my espresso machine will be warmed up by the time that I come downstairs, and I talk to my TV when I want to watch the next episode of ‘Rings of Power.'”
  • When she and her family leave for the day, “our smart lock secures the house, the thermostat drops down, and I can keep an eye on our aging pet bunny and our rambunctious 9-month-old black Lab through my cameras.”
  • Matter, Koopmans said, will make these conveniences more easily available to all consumers — with lots more room for customization.

The Matter brand logo — soon to become familiar?

🔌 State of play: On the product side, Amazon — for one — says it’ll have “17 different Echo devices, plugs, switches and bulbs with Android setup” working with Matter in December.

  • Some of those devices have already been released and are being updated with Matter support. Many more new gadgets will follow next year.
  • Manufacturers have shown lots of interest in getting their products Matter-certified.
  • “We’ve already had 20 new companies diving in, putting their weight into integrating new devices,” said Tobin Richardson, president and CEO of the Connectivity Standards Alliance, which oversaw Matter’s development. “And that goes from new appliances, medical devices to toys.”

What they’re saying: “This is a major inflection point for the IoT,” Richardson added.

  • With Matter, “smart home devices will feel as fast and reliable as your old light switch, while doing so much more.”

“This will enable use cases and experiences that — I kid you not — we can’t even imagine today,” added Manish Kothari, SVP of software development at Silicon Labs, which is baking Matter into its chips.

💡 Bonus: Matter might be “good news for your energy bill,” said Sitao Ma of Schneider Electric, which sells a …….

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How Sustainability and Smart Homes Can Work Together – Blue & Green Tomorrow

Sustainability and smart homes are some of the most talked about topics nowadays. There are a lot of smart home features that are actually good for the planet. With so many things negatively affecting our planet, we should all work hard and make changes in our lives. These changes don’t have to be inconvenient or costly. In fact, they can be fun and easy with the right attitude.

Moving into a smart home or upgrading your existing one with smart features can help our planet more than we realize. Through these features, we can reduce our carbon footprint, minimize the amount of water waste we produce, and save a lot of energy. These are all crucial steps that are needed to save the environment.

You can save energy by incorporating sustainability into your smart homes

One of the most important aspects of sustainability is saving energy. This isn’t always an easy thing to achieve, but upgrading to a smart home will make it much easier. As experts from Consumer Opinion say, you should always invest in things that will make your day-to-day life more manageable.

When you implement the best features of a smart home, you will be able to save a lot of energy instead of having it go to waste. You will see how easily your home can run without using many resources. Another perk of having a smart home that saves energy is that you will save a lot of money simultaneously. You won’t have to spend much time updating and taking care of the maintenance of your home, either.

A smart home can produce energy

Smart homes don’t just save energy. Smart homes can support sustainable lifestyles by producing it, too. One of the most popular renewable energy sources we can make at home is installing solar panels on our roofs. You can easily and quickly produce electricity for your home by installing solar panels. When you combine this with smart light bulbs, the energy you use will go down drastically. Many people don’t know that you can even install a wind turbine in your home. Small wind turbines can be installed in every home, no matter the size. An air source heat pump is the perfect solution to incorporate a cooling system in an environmentally friendly way. The renewable energy source you choose will depend on where you live and the climate there. But if you live in a mainly sunny or windy area, use this opportunity to save a lot of money and help the environment. You will quickly see your investment pay off while at the same time supporting a sustainable lifestyle.

Smart homes help reduce water waste

Our water supplies are limited, even though it might not feel that way. For watering plants and lawns, the best solution is to install smart sprinklers, which will help reduce the amount of water needed to keep them healthy and beautiful. Smart sprinklers work automatically and better spread out the water on the plants. By switching the faucet in your kitchen to a smart one, you can also reduce the amount of water needed to wash dishes. This is the same principle found in the sprinkling system – by spreading water better, you won’t need to use it as much as you ordinarily would have. Saving water is one of the most important things we can do to help save our planet. So, if you are looking to move into a smart home or upgrade your existing one, this is the first step you should take.

Reduces the carbon footprint

Even though smart upgrades can cause some pollution during production and installation, the amount of pollution and carbon footprint they prevent from happening is much more significant. The smart heating and cooling systems ensure you don’t use more energy than needed to use these features. If you forget to turn off the heating or cooling, you can do this from a distance and keep an eye out for any changes in the temperature. If you own an electric car, one of the best features you can install is a charger for it. Electric cars on their own help reduce our carbon footprint immensely. So, by installing a charger right there in your own home, you won’t have to waste energy on driving to a charging station. All in all, when it comes to whether smart homes are good or not, the pros outweigh all the cons. Not only will your home be much more enjoyable to be in and use, but it will also help save the planet and the environment.

Smart homes increase security

Another perk of a smart home is the increased security that comes with it. When creating a smart and secure home, you should explore all options available to find something that works for you. A smart alarm system will prevent people from breaking into your home and stealing your valuable things. Even if a bad situation arises, you will be momentarily notified and informed about what’s happening. With a surveillance system, you will quickly see whether someone has visited your home or taken a package from the porch. This can also help the environment, as it will be easier to prevent fires and other disasters that can have adverse effects. With smart security updates, you will ensure the safety of your pets and any other animals you might have.

To sum up

As we can see, sustainability and smart homes go hand in hand. A smart home is one of the best investments you can make. Moving into a smart home ensures you will live a healthier, better life. Making expensive changes and upgrades might seem like it won’t pay off at first, but after a while, you will notice that you will make your money back in a short time. Your home will be much easier to navigate with all of these features. If you are away, you’ll know that there isn’t any energy being wasted through the heating and cooling system. With security upgrades, you will also ensure that there aren’t any dangerous situations, such as a fire, which can be extremely bad for the environment. With all of these things considered, we can see why smart homes are becoming increasingly popular every year.

Quick Guide to DIY Smart Homes With Arduino – Make Tech Easier

Some of us have this innate desire to make things on our own and relish the challenge of learning something new. If that sounds like you, then you’ll probably enjoy leveling up your smart home DIY-style with an Arduino.

Need to get up to speed on what an Arduino is? Check out our beginner’s guide to Arduino and everything you need to get started with Arduino projects.

Why Use Arduino for Smart Home Projects

Doing smart homes the Arduino way is fun. There’s nothing like seeing the fruits of your labor move around and do something as you intend it to.

But there’s more to it than just fun. There’s a lot to be said for making things on your own with an Arduino, especially something that looks as complex as a smart home system. Here are four reasons to support the argument:

1. Save a Bit More Money

While it won’t save you a fortune, Arduino boards are much cheaper than a Google Nest Hub – provided you’re willing to forego some other features.

At $55, the 2nd Gen Google Nest Hub takes up more than half of the budget for the DIY gear. If you want to build something yourself for less, you can get an Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect with a Raspberry Pi’s processing power and wireless capabilities. Just know that you won’t get a speaker, mic, and touchscreen display.

2. Retain More Control

While there are issues with Google and Amazon and their respect for your data privacy, Arduino doesn’t bother using your data for anything.

Rest assured you won’t see any hidden apps or programs sending your data to advertising companies. There are no hidden loopholes behind a user agreement. There won’t even be any advertising. You’re making your smart home on your own. That’s total control in your hands.

3. Get More Variety

Remember that an Arduino is a tiny computer with a chip for a brain and a lot of metal bits for “sensing” things.

What I’m getting at is that you could make your own sensors and attach them to an Arduino. You could also use some specialized sensors, some of which could be scrapped parts from old stuff, and give them new life in a smart home ecosystem.

4. Combined Services

Who says you have to be stuck with one wallet-sized board?

As long as you have the right parts, you can make the Arduino connect to almost anything that can compute. Smart home on a Wi-Fi network? Check. Using Zigbee for your automatic lights? No problem, there’s the XBee shield. Real-time data to a cloud server? Ethernet shield to go!

Combine that with all the exotic sensors you may end up using, and you can have a fully DIY, super high-tech smart home with your name on it.

How to Use Arduino in a Smart Home Setting

How can you fit an Arduino board into a smart home’s network infrastructure? Three ways are listed below:

1. Wireless Hub

The most obvious of all these methods is using the Arduino as a hub to wirelessly connect and interact with your smart home devices.

Wireless Arduino hubs use Arduino shields that give their boards the ability to emit and listen to radio frequencies. An example of this is the SparkFun XBee Shield that works with XBee and Zigbee modules up to 100 feet away.

There are also other boards that host wireless capabilities without needing extra shields. Boards such as the Uno WiFi Rev 2 and Nano 33 IoT can use both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to communicate with other devices on a wireless network.

In fact, you could do away with other commercial IoT hubs, like Wyze, Google Home, and Amazon Echo, as long as you have the right parts.

Have an Amazon smart display? Here’s how you can turn it into a digital photo frame.

2. Data Logger

The Arduino can also be used to log data about its surroundings on a memory card or some other storage device. This lets you do analyses on different variables: temperature, light levels, the number of times you used the coffee maker – practically anything connected to the Arduino.

With this information, you can get a better idea of how to improve your home. Your smart hub can also use this information directly, saving memory for other tasks by leaving all the sensor-related computations to your Arduino board.

The most straightforward way to do this is by adding a memory card module on the Arduino to give your Arduino direct access to your memory card. Another way is through serial communication – you can send information to a computer or another device that can store it someplace else (like in a cloud service).

3. As a Smart Controller for Non-Smart Devices

Let’s get a bit philosophical with smart devices. The only thing that makes them any different from “dumb” devices is that they can connect to a network. Almost every smart device you’ll ever own has a way with wireless communications – even a state-of-the-art programmable toaster can’t be as “smart” as a simple light switch that’s connected to a smart system.

What does this mean for our jumper wires and Arduino boards? You can turn a non-smart appliance smart by giving it wireless capabilities.

WiFi modules nRF2L01+ (left) and ESP-01 (right) allow the Arduino to connect to Wi-Fi networks.

Normally, you would start by connecting your non-smart appliances to an Arduino board. This can be done through relay modules and turning your Arduino into an electronic switch. Then, by using a board with wireless capabilities (like UNO WiFi Rev2 or RP-2040 Connect) or adding transceiver modules (like ESP-01 or XBee Shield), you can connect your “dumb” appliances to a smart hub and automate them from there.

Looking for a new smart thermostat for your home? This guide will help you choose the right model.

Make Your Smart Home Even Smarter With Arduino

Here’s a more detailed look at how smart homes can put your Arduino board to good use.

Internet of Things (IoT) Architecture

IoT architecture refers to the method you’re using to connect your smart devices all around the house. Most styles you’ll probably think of are centralized, meaning you’re using one central hub that listens to other things.

For the Arduino, you should be clear about its role in the architecture. Will it be gathering data? Is it going to store that data somewhere? Are you going to add the Arduino to a wireless or wired infrastructure? How many devices will it control?

One example is an Arduino-controlled smart bedroom that turns on the lights and opens the window blinds at 6AM every morning before it blares an alarm.

You could also use a relay module to act as a switch that would turn on a light bulb. If it could divert power to a Raspberry Pi too, then it should turn on and activate a preprogrammed script that rolls the blinds with a DC motor and plays a song on a piezo speaker.

It could also use a clock module to note the time without checking the Internet. This module and the Arduino could fit inside a box, along with some batteries connected to a solar panel, to have a low-power system that saves more energy than any other mains-connected smart hub ever could.

That is an example of a centralized IoT architecture using an Arduino as a central hub. But then, you might notice, most of the things I mentioned were “dumb” devices. They don’t have sensors, nor can you control them through your smartphone. There’s not even a cloud to connect to. Or is there?

Arduino-Based Networking

Arduino-based networking is not an official term, but it might as well be. Your little Arduino is capable of great things, and one of them is exchanging information with other devices.

In general, you have two ways to connect your Arduino to a network: wired and wireless. You could use shields and modules to give your Arduino wired connection ports that it didn’t come with straight from the factory. These ports include HDMI, Ethernet, GSM, and more. The same can be said for wireless connections, giving you Bluetooth, WiFi, and NFC, among others.

But given the nature of most beginner Arduino projects, another thing you should look at is having the Arduino connected directly to other devices. You could opt for a rather decentralized approach by having each unit connected to whatever they need to be connected to. That’s simpler to build but can get pretty messy once you get to about six or seven devices.

Webhooks

Although it’s a rather complex topic, we can summarize webhooks as a way to make your Arduino send information to a web server.

Webhooks use the HTTP protocol to send messages to servers waiting for these messages. With an Arduino, you can make it send your own kind of webhook messages on a server. Webhook-capable automation services like Zapier or IFTTT could listen for these messages, which would trigger automatic responses each time a sensor notices something.

Displays

While this one can be optional, it’s always good to have access to your home’s environmental data through a display. You could use various kinds, such as 16×2 LCDs, TFT monitors, OLED, or even an old Nokia 5110 LCD!

For the most part, you just need to wire these to the Arduino and be on with your code. But you’d sometimes end up with two problems here:

  • It’s easy to run out of I/O pins because these things use many.
  • The Arduino can’t drive laptop-sized LCD displays on its own.

These problems are not without solutions, though. You can reduce the wires directly connected to your Arduino board by using I2C and shift registers. There are driver modules that you could tweak to use here as well.

Tip: did you know you can program an Ardruino with Raspberry Pi? Learn how to do it by following this guide.

Example Project: Turn Lights on Every Twelve Hours

Given all that, let’s do a little demonstration with an example. This quick project lets you turn your lights on and off every twelve hours with just a few materials:

  • Jumper wires
  • Relay
  • Light bulb
  • Light bulb socket
  • Copper wires (12 AWG should do, preferably stranded)
  • Electric plug
  • A phone adapter

We talked about using a relay module to light up a light bulb before. This example is quite similar – we’re just going to make it light up every 12 hours.

1. Input the Code

Copy the code in the box below and paste it into the Arduino IDE.

const int relayPin = 7;
 
void setup() {
	pinMode(relayPin, OUTPUT);
}
 
void loop() {
	digitalWrite(relayPin, LOW);
	delay(43200000);
	digialWrite(relayPin, HIGH);
	delay(43200000);
}

This code is almost the same as what we used in our relay module and Arduino post, except for the timing. Here, we used delay(43200000) to pause between HIGH and LOW states for 12 hours each. The number in the delay is in microseconds. The pin states are also reversed here: it starts at LOW , then moves to HIGH after 12 hours.

2. Build the Circuit

Start by working on the light bulb socket. Connect one side to the relay’s GND using the 12 AWG copper cable. The other side of the light bulb socket should be connected to one wire from the electric plug. Then connect the other wire from the electric plug to the relay’s NC terminal.

Finally, connect the smaller pins to the Arduino using jumper pins. GND should go to GND, 5V to 5V, and Signal to pin 7.

3. Connect to Mains

Connect the Arduino to mains using a phone adapter. Starting from the moment you plugged it ib, it will keep counting in microseconds until it reaches 12 hours. That should flip the relay module’s state from off to on.

Next, connect the electric plug to mains. If the light bulb powers on immediately, that means you connected the light bulb socket to NO instead of NC. You can switch it up after disconnecting everything from the mains socket.

Looking for Inspiration?

With the Arduino, creativity and inspiration are your greatest tools. Take a look at the following Arduino smart home projects made by tinkerers all over the globe:

  • Smart Thermostat: this smart thermostat project uses an Arduino Nano R3, DS18B20 Programmable Thermometer, and an HC-05 Bluetooth Master/Slave Module to sense the temperature in the room and command the AC to pick up the pace with the cooling on a hot summer’s day.
  • Remote Control Light Switch: have a 3D printer? This remote control light switch uses a pair of RF transceivers on a pair of Arduino Unos to flip a physical light switch. It’s wireless, low-power, and doesn’t clog up your Wi-Fi router. Having 3D printing skills is important for this one.
  • DIY Weather Station With ESP32: while the ESP32 isn’t an “Arduino,” it’s compatible, and you could think of it as an even better version of an Arduino board. This ESP32-based weather station gathers temperature, wind speed, wind direction, and rainfall metrics, then sends it to the Home Assistant mobile app for easy viewing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an Arduino run an OS?

Arduino boards, unlike Raspberry Pis, are very simple pieces of hardware that can’t run an OS because of a lack of memory. While there are projects that try to run OS simulations on an Arduino like MCUOS, there’s just not enough RAM in there to run even an older OS like MS-DOS.

Why do I experience lag with my wireless smart devices?

There can be many reasons: from network overcrowding due to too many smart devices in a home network to your smart devices being naturally slow products. There is also an inherent “lagginess” when it comes to anything wireless.

Is it a good idea to use my Android phone as a smart hub?

While it is certainly possible, chances are this won’t work very well. Once you leave your home with your phone in your pocket, your smart devices won’t work automatically until you get back. But this won’t be a problem if all of your smart devices talk to each other through the Internet – as long as your phone has mobile data.

All original images by Terenz Jomar Dela Cruz.

Terenz Jomar Dela Cruz

Terenz is a hobbyist roboticist trying to build the most awesome robot the world has ever seen. He could have done that already if he wasn’t so busy burning through LEDs as a second hobby.

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What are smart homes? – Verdict

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Credit: Andrey Suslov / Shutterstock

Smart homes have become a reality thanks to the advent of connected devices like Amazon Echo speakers, Roombas and Nest thermostats. However, that doesn’t explain what a smart home is or what the risks of living in one could be. Neglecting to understand either of those things could have serious consequences to businesses and customers.

A smart home is a house with appliances and devices that can connect to each other and be controlled remotely. This is often done via the web and therefore can make use of Internet of Things (IoT) technology. This connectivity and remote control can also allow for automation of processes, making daily life easier and more efficient, in theory at least. This can be seen in smart thermostats, door locks, light bulbs, speakers and more.

Research firm GlobalData estimates that the global smart homes market will be worth $75.3bn by 2025, having grown at a compound annual growth rate of just under 16% from $35.9bn in 2020,

Precursors to today’s smart home technology have been around for just over a century. Electrical household appliances appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. Legendary innovator Nikola Tesla’s 1898 idea of remote control also falls into this bracket.

The ECHO IV home computer is arguably the first automation of various household appliances. A Westinghouse Electric engineer developed it in the 1960s. This computer could perform various functions such as air conditioning and digital clock management.

Another milestone in the history of smart homes was reached in 1975 when Pico Electronics introduced the X10 protocol. The technology used radio frequencies to connect electronic household appliances, allowing remote control of them. The X10 standard is still in use today. However, Wi-Fi is now the most common technology to connect devices. Other methods of communication such as Bluetooth exist too.

To what extent homes have interconnected devices varies, but smart technology is clearly increasing and making many homes ‘smarter’. Convenience is the the main advantage of this for many people. Automating processes, such as heating and vacuuming, means you can’t forget to switch the heating off when it’s not needed or forget to clean before guests come to visit.

More advanced technology learns your living patterns and adapts to suit them. This increased flexibility and efficiency may also have positive environmental impacts. For example, Google’s Nest Learning Thermostat adapts to how you use your house, reducing energy consumption spent heating it unnecessarily.

However, as with all technologies, there are things to be wary of. Connecting your home to the internet means raises serious concerns around cybersecurity and privacy. Customer advocacy group Which? has warned that a smart home could face up to 12,000 hacks in a single week. Getting hacked is obviously a huge danger for the individual consumer, but it could also make the manufacturer liable for not having tough enough security.

Smart homes also raise questions around compatibility and reliability of devices. This was brought to the fore recently by the issues some Pixel phone users had connecting their Sonos devices to Google devices within their smart home. Within these issues surrounding technical capability, issues around legality and sharing of software were also highlighted.

GlobalData is the parent company of Verdict and its sister publications.

Smart homes, smarter living – HT Tech

If you too are looking to get started with setting up your smart home or are looking for a new addition then Taiwanese brands have got you covered

In recent years we’ve become increasingly used to everyday connectivity. The need for a convenient lifestyle with increasing urbanization has driven consumers towards building smart homes. The smart home market stood at a global rate of $84.5 billion in 2021. Research shows that the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 12.3% by the end of 2030, reaching USD 254.78 Billion. 

The smart home industry is driven by IoT and 5G, in particular, promises to revolutionize the delivery of these IoT services. It allows devices to work free of wires and cables while consuming a minimal amount of power. Taiwan’s long experience in ICT development and its excellent hardware manufacturing capabilities gives the island a powerful advantage in 5G and IoT development. Over the years Taiwan has achieved the status of a key partner in the global ICT industry. 

Taiwan Excellence Awards, established by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 1993 recognises brands that are shaping the ICT industry worldwide. Every year, selected brands are subjected to a rigorous and stringent selection system that covers four major aspects of “R&D”, “Design”, “Quality” and “Marketing” to identify outstanding products that offer “Innovative Value” while satisfying the key criterion of being “made in Taiwan”. Products that win the recognition then serve as examples of the domestic industries and are promoted by the government in the international market in order to shape the creative image for Taiwanese businesses.

If you too are looking to get started with setting up your smart home or are looking for a new addition then Taiwanese brands have got you covered. For a convenient bathroom space you can check out Jye Li An Technology Co., Ltd’s bathroom heating fan that comes with seven unique functions. With its remote control, you can preset a time for heating your bathroom so that it is ready for a shower immediately after you get home. It also allows you to save energy by using the timer function to set up the turn off time. Studded with features, the bathroom heating fan is ideal for elderly or the young from developing infections.

For a clean water purification system you should check out the CTME-301 and CTME-303 by Easywell Water Systems, Inc. 

The media of PP stage blocks dirt, sand and other sediments. 

The media of hollow fiber and silver carbon stage blocks bacteria, viruses, impurities, organic matter, residual chlorine, pesticides, and odors. 

The LED indicators of the two water filters will remind users to change cartridges at the right time and stop  water leakage. 

You will enjoy the advantages of power saving and clean water drinking for your family without any complex maintenance.

Another addition to your bathroom can be an innovative instant heated smart toilet seat developed by Hokwang Industries Co., Ltd. The most frequently used front and rear wash come with red and blue LED light indicators which are intuitive to use. The seat temperature has also been visualized with intuitive color codes so the user can have an idea of what to expect before sitting down. It also comes with both a carbon filter and ions deodorizer to neutralize odor which activates automatically when seated.

And to make sure all these devices work uninterrupted irrespective of power outages, bring home a smart UPS by CyberPower. Their power solutions have your home and office appliances both covered. The versatile product range includes surge protectors, backup UPS systems, power distribution units, smart App UPS systems, etc. These power solutions are smart, advanced and also help reduce power consumption as well as energy costs by incorporating Patented GreenPower UPS™ technology. 

Today, technology is entwined deeply within our day to day life. Machine learning is making our devices adapt their behavior to match our habits. With AI-driven technology we are well on our way to create spaces that are fully automated and always connected. 

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same. 


Smart homes, smarter living – HT Tech

If you too are looking to get started with setting up your smart home or are looking for a new addition then Taiwanese brands have got you covered

In recent years we’ve become increasingly used to everyday connectivity. The need for a convenient lifestyle with increasing urbanization has driven consumers towards building smart homes. The smart home market stood at a global rate of $84.5 billion in 2021. Research shows that the market is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 12.3% by the end of 2030, reaching USD 254.78 Billion. 

The smart home industry is driven by IoT and 5G, in particular, promises to revolutionize the delivery of these IoT services. It allows devices to work free of wires and cables while consuming a minimal amount of power. Taiwan’s long experience in ICT development and its excellent hardware manufacturing capabilities gives the island a powerful advantage in 5G and IoT development. Over the years Taiwan has achieved the status of a key partner in the global ICT industry. 

Taiwan Excellence Awards, established by the Ministry of Economic Affairs in 1993 recognises brands that are shaping the ICT industry worldwide. Every year, selected brands are subjected to a rigorous and stringent selection system that covers four major aspects of “R&D”, “Design”, “Quality” and “Marketing” to identify outstanding products that offer “Innovative Value” while satisfying the key criterion of being “made in Taiwan”. Products that win the recognition then serve as examples of the domestic industries and are promoted by the government in the international market in order to shape the creative image for Taiwanese businesses.

If you too are looking to get started with setting up your smart home or are looking for a new addition then Taiwanese brands have got you covered. For a convenient bathroom space you can check out Jye Li An Technology Co., Ltd’s bathroom heating fan that comes with seven unique functions. With its remote control, you can preset a time for heating your bathroom so that it is ready for a shower immediately after you get home. It also allows you to save energy by using the timer function to set up the turn off time. Studded with features, the bathroom heating fan is ideal for elderly or the young from developing infections.

For a clean water purification system you should check out the CTME-301 and CTME-303 by Easywell Water Systems, Inc. 

The media of PP stage blocks dirt, sand and other sediments. 

The media of hollow fiber and silver carbon stage blocks bacteria, viruses, impurities, organic matter, residual chlorine, pesticides, and odors. 

The LED indicators of the two water filters will remind users to change cartridges at the right time and stop  water leakage. 

You will enjoy the advantages of power saving and clean water drinking for your family without any complex maintenance.

Another addition to your bathroom can be an innovative instant heated smart toilet seat developed by Hokwang Industries Co., Ltd. The most frequently used front and rear wash come with red and blue LED light indicators which are intuitive to use. The seat temperature has also been visualized with intuitive color codes so the user can have an idea of what to expect before sitting down. It also comes with both a carbon filter and ions deodorizer to neutralize odor which activates automatically when seated.

And to make sure all these devices work uninterrupted irrespective of power outages, bring home a smart UPS by CyberPower. Their power solutions have your home and office appliances both covered. The versatile product range includes surge protectors, backup UPS systems, power distribution units, smart App UPS systems, etc. These power solutions are smart, advanced and also help reduce power consumption as well as energy costs by incorporating Patented GreenPower UPS™ technology. 

Today, technology is entwined deeply within our day to day life. Machine learning is making our devices adapt their behavior to match our habits. With AI-driven technology we are well on our way to create spaces that are fully automated and always connected. 

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same. 


Samsung to make chips for futuristic smart homes on wheels – Android Headlines

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Samsung plans to develop semiconductor chips for futuristic smart homes on wheels. According to The Korea Economic Daily, the company is preparing to make chips for home appliances fitted in self-driving cars. The development could begin before the end of this year.

The so-called home appliance chips will enable remote communication, data storage, and control of appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, cleaners, drink dispensers, and even TVs. The chip will be a one-stop solution for everything a gadget needs to be smart and connected. While it could be used in standalone appliances that you use in your home, Samsung wants to cover the homes of the future as well.

With self-driving cars now a reality, Samsung sees a future where cars will be our homes too. Everything we need in a home is fitted in our cars. Our vehicles will have spacious interiors complete with all the essential appliances. Wherever you go, you will be in your home. And the Korean firm wants to be at the forefront of this revolution with chips to make it all happen.

“Developing home appliance chips is a challenge even for major chipmakers like Samsung, which has been the top memory player for decades. Samsung wants to take the lead in the newly emerging market for homes on self-driving cars,” a source familiar with the matter told the publication. We could hear more about this when the development commences later this year.

Samsung is preparing to take the plunge into futuristic smart homes

Samsung is one of the world’s biggest semiconductor companies. It makes chips for all sorts of products, from smartphones and computers to smart homes, autonomous vehicles, and more. The firm has an even bigger vision for the future. In August this year, Samsung announced that it plans to make all of its home appliances Wi-Fi and SmartThings-enabled. It already has such smart home appliances, but the company wants to extend this smartness to the homes of all of its customers.

The latest report now suggests the Korean behemoth is looking to go a step ahead and prepare itself for futuristic homes. Of course, such homes will not be a norm anytime soon. But tech giants are already preparing for it. Along with Samsung, companies like LG, Whirlpool, Dyson, and Haier, have also “joined the race to turn cars into living rooms on the move.”

Some companies are developing their own technologies, while others have acquired startups working in this sector. According to research firm Statista, the global home appliance industry will be a $538.6 billion market by 2024. Time will tell if smart homes on wheels would be widely available by then.

Source: https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiaGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFuZHJvaWRoZWFkbGluZXMuY29tLzIwMjIvMTEvc2Ftc3VuZy10by1tYWtlLWNoaXBzLWZvci1mdXR1cmlzdGljLXNtYXJ0LWhvbWVzLW9uLXdoZWVscy5odG1s0gEA?oc=5

How Smart Homes Increase Your Home Security – RealtyBizNews

Believe it or not, over a million home burglaries occur every year. When scoping out a house to steal from, burglars look for easy targets. They break into houses when people are at work or on vacation. But most importantly, they look for residences that don’t have home security. Because the last thing a burglar wants is to run into a smart home.

Smart home technology, from doorbell cams to motion-detecting CCTV, means burglars think twice. The question becomes, ‘why are smart home options so superior to other types of security?’ 

Join me as I discuss the reasons why smart home security provides the best crime prevention available.

What Makes a Smart Home?

Technology is affecting the real estate industry in fascinating ways. Smart home options for security are just one of these things.

A smart home is a loose term for any residence that makes use of Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Internet of things refers to having a network of interconnected smart devices. These devices not only give me finer control over them, but they communicate with each other to better serve me.

An IoT device can be a washing machine, air conditioning unit, or even a doorbell. I can program them to work together. For example, an air conditioner that drops the temperature when I get home from work.

A key feature of IoT is that I always have control over them. Even if I’m at work, I can access these devices from my phone. If I need to take a peek at what the dog is doing, I simply open the home camera app.

A convenient side effect of these smart home services is that they double as security.

How Does Smart Home Security Make Me Safer?

As I mentioned earlier, I have access to my smart home technology from anywhere. I can check the cameras at my leisure. I can turn on the lights, turn down the temperature, or even lock the doors.

This means that my home is in my pocket at all times. I could be on the other side of the world and still have complete control.

Let’s go back to the example of being on vacation. Most people get a home sitter, leave the lights on, or play music. But burglars are clever, and they can tell when someone isn’t really at home.

Unless I’ve left someone to watch over my house, it’s up to chance whether a burglar makes a forced entry. All of that changes when I have smart residential security.

Smart home security has all the hallmarks of residential security: cameras, sensors, and security alerts. But the way I can apply these things is totally different.

Applications for Smart Home Security

What’s cool about these smart technologies is that they report to me whenever something strange happens.

For example, I can set my smart doorbell to alert me whenever it detects movement. I can open my phone and check instantly if someone is at the door. With some doorbell models, I could even talk to the stranger and ask them what they were doing there.

If it seems like they’re up to no good, I can snap a photo of them. That gives me an excellent resource for later if I need to get in contact with the police. I can then share that photo with the neighborhood watch, too.

Smart security options are also great for when I’ve made a mistake. Say I forgot to lock the doors, but I’m already at the airport. With a simple button press, I can lock them and forget.

But since the home is smart, I can set these things to be automatic. The house might, say, lock the doors automatically after a few minutes.

If the unlikely event that the doorbell camera isn’t working, another appliance might be. My inside CCTV might alert me about a loud sound, such as a window breaking. Then all I have to do is call the police, and the authorities will catch the burglar in the act.

Versatility and Ease of Use

What sets a smart home apart from traditional residential security is versatility and ease of use. In the past, I would have to get in contact with one of the big-name security options. They’d install their own security system and then handle any suspicious activity alone.

However, with smart home options, I don’t have to pay for any subscription. I don’t have to cede control of my house to some third party. I can install only the devices I want for my specific needs.

And unlike a subscription service, I pay for the devices, and that’s it. No future payments are necessary. If I only want the doorbell cam, that’s the only payment I’ll ever make.

Lucky for me, this is easy to do. I don’t need a professional to set up a WiFi camera or smart refrigerator. All of these devices come with beginner-friendly instructions that a child can carry out.

Smart Home Services Are the Future of Residential Security

The verdict is in: a smart home provides superior security compared to its predecessors. It gives me finite control of my home from anywhere in the world. It allows me to go on trips or to work, and rest assured, my home is a tap away.

The intersection between home technology and real estate is a booming industry. Follow us for more home technology news to keep up to date with the latest.

Ben Shepardson is a Realty Biz News Contributing Writer and has a long track record of success in online marketing and web development. While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems, he worked doing enterprise-level SEO and started an online business offering web development services to small business customers.

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G Style’s Top Picks for Smart Homes This Holiday Season [2022] – Gstyle magazine

Ah man, it is that time again. 2022 has zipped back so far and now we are rushing head first into the holidays. Well, one of my beats has been the Smart Home. It all started with one simple device back when I was still an apartment dwelling, and my landlord let me install the Nest Thermostat (talked about that here), and I’ve been a lover of smart home tech ever since. I started with lights, and motion sensors in our apartment, and when I purchased my own home…..oh man things took off. Nowadays, my phone has smart stuff for everyone, and I really do need to do a video or post to update about it, but that is for another day. Today let’s talk about my top picks on what to add to your home, or gift to someone this season!

Google Nest Cam with Floodlight

One of the more recent additions to my home has been the Nest Cam with Floodlight. You might remember from previous recommendations or posts I use to use Ring, but as I’m primarily a Google home, switching over to this just made sense. Last year I recommended these and I was waiting to get the, now they are apart of my smart home system! These are meant to replace your existing floodlights and are wired. So you’ll end up being able to have smart floodlight controls, and a camera to watch your various area. You can view the cameras from your smartphone using the Google Home app, from any Google Nest Hub or Nest Hub Max, from your TV if you use a Google Chromecast with a Google TV device, and not also from your computer browser via Home.Google.com. These have come along and I truly enjoy having them as part of my home. They run $279.99 normally, but as of the time of this writing, if you catch the Black Friday deals from the Google Store or Amazon, you can get them for only $189.99. Damn, wish I got that deal when I was replacing all my Ring devices!

Website – Google Store / Amazon

Price – $279.99 ($189.99 currently)


Yale Assure Lock 2 with WiFi module

Now this one is literally the latest addition to the smart home! I’ve been a diehard Kwikset Kevo user for years but figured it was time to try something new. Yale was nice enough to send this over for us to review and it has been definitely a welcome addition to the home. With the Yale Assure Lock 2 with the WiFi module, you really don’t need a physical key to get into your home (but with the model we have, you do still have that just in case). Can enter your home in a variety of ways including using the app on the phone, entering a code you can determine into the keypad, with the WiFi module, remotely letting someone in, and they have this feature called auto unlock that will unlock the door as you are about to walk in. Additionally, if you need to have guests or others come in and maybe need to access your home for a temporary period, you can also send them a code to use and limit how long that code is valid. We are still fully in our review period for it but feel based on current usage, this is a lock we would recommend for anyone looking for the convenience of simply entering their home without the giggling around with keys. The Yale Assure Lock 2 runs anywhere from $239 – $293 depending on which model you get, and you can find them on Amazon or other retailers.

Website – Amazon

Price – $239 – $293


Sense Energy Monitor

Another recent addition to the home, and one I’m peculiarly obsessed with is the Sense energy monitor. As you can see from the pictures, this one really gets to the heart of the smart home. All smart home tech uses electricity and the Sense energy monitor can in real time show you how much electricity you are consuming. I added this to the house as I recently installed solar panels in my home. While the provider of those panels had an app to show me how much power I was generating, this would normally show me what I generated on the following day. I wanted something where in real time I could see both how much power I was generating from the sun and consuming at the same time, so I could work to lower our consumption to a point where we were using less than we generate and thus have all our needs (or a very high percentage of it) cover by the sun. This led me to Sense and this is one device that works in the background, but I really love this thing. One of the perks over time is the ability for it to detect the different devices in your home so you see what is using electricity and how much it is using. For now, I’m happy just seeing in real-time an overall picture of what I generate and consume. Now, this isn’t an inexpensive unit, costing $299 for a base unit, to $349 for its Sense Solar (the one I have) which provides additional sensors specifically for your solar monitoring. As of this writing, holiday sales are providing $80 off each unit. This is perfect for someone who loves their tech but wants to be conscious about their electric use as well.

Website – Sense / Amazon

Price – $299 – $349


Roku Smart Home Suite of Products

For this one, it isn’t really about one product, but an introduction of a new player in the smart home arena. While Roku isn’t a new company by any means, its entry into the smart home field is interesting. What we like about this and why we think you should take a look, is both their price point which is very approachable from their light bulbs to doorbells, to smart cameras (even a floodlight in the lineup). And the fact that they aren’t exactly starting from scratch here. Roku worked with the company Wyze to take their line-up of products and rework them in a way that works with Roku’s ecosystem. Wyze is already a company that makes good products at an affordable cost, and we’re glad to see Roku keeping that going. Products range from color light bulbs as a 2-pack for $17.99 to a smart home starter kit that includes two color bulbs, two smart plugs, and an indoor camera that only costs $58.97; Roku provides someone who already uses their device to stream TV a way to expand into the smart home arena without breaking the bank!

Website – Roku

Price – $17.99 and up


APC UPS 1000VA Battery Backup and Surge Protector

Now this one, there isn’t anything too cool and trendy about it. It is here for one job, and one job only. With all that smart home tech you are gathering, why not keep some of it running for a period of time in the event of a power outage? Know someone who has a ton of gadgets, tech, and more? They just might not be thinking about what if the power goes out, so go ahead and pick this up for them. Allows them to keep their important devices running for a period of time until the power comes back on, or allows them to properly shut them down if the power goes out. This peculiar unit runs $169 and can be found right on Amazon. Check it out!

Website – Amazon

Price – $169.99


Well, that wraps up this year’s smart home guide. Did you see anything you’ll pick up for a loved one, or maybe yourself? Maybe you didn’t see anything, well let us know some of your top choices to pick up this year and share that in the comments. Enjoy the holidays’ everyone!