The Trouble with Technology

We are at the beginning of the fourth industrial revolution, where the boundaries blur between the physical and digital world. This includes the promise of the Smart Home, when technology gets so simple for homeowners that the user interface knows who you are, and then can start doing things for you. This is an enticing glimpse of the future but a few problems prevent that vision from becoming a reality for now.

There is no standardization between manufacturers’ controls. Your TV, cable box, air conditioner, stereo system, lights, pool control, etc. do not communicate well with each other. Your AppleTV, automated shades and pool controller need updates to perform well. Every device has a different app, so you end up with multiple apps on phones. Control systems such as Savant, Crestron and Control4 do a good job but are not perfect yet.

The smart home is creating frustrated consumers

We don’t need a complicated study to understand this. Just go to anybody’s house and see them fiddling with everything. Technology is becoming anti-human. 22% of people who buy do-it-yourself (DIY) technology give up and just return the product.  

The Gartner Hype Cycle

Examine The Gartner Hype Cycle above. A new technology comes out that everybody is excited about. It fails to live up to its promise but eventually reaches its potential. For Home Automation, I think we are somewhere past the Trough of Disillusionment.

Where do we go from here?

When automobiles were introduced in the previous Industrial Revolution they lacked standards and were difficult to repair, limiting their usefulness to the masses. Then Henry Ford standardized production and service stations flourished. The pattern will soon repeat itself in the Smart Home industry. Standards will soon be adopted to streamline performance.

At The Audiohouse, we eat, sleep and breathe home technology

We understand the world of home technology. We are your technical concierge, technical liaison, technology coordinator and technical therapist. We build a lifetime relationship by keeping a history of what devices you have, when they get updated, and then enact change when needed. When the promise of technology does not live up to its billing, we will be there to deliver peace of mind for anybody who interfaces with technology. Which is everybody.