Voice Control For The Modern Home
We have all been there – arms full, juggling several grocery bags at once, wet hands, or in the middle of something else when the doorbell rings, you need more light, or need to switch the TV or a song on a playlist. You could stop what you’re doing and free yourself up, but wouldn’t it be easier to tell your home to handle the task? With the help of a voice controlled home, interactive voice assistants and smart speakers, allowing you to be completely hands-free is not just a possibility but really, a reality!
The Rise of Voice Control
According to TechCrunch, over a quarter of adults in the U.S. own a smart speaker. This number is expected to jump to 55% in 2022. Smart speakers are being put to good use, too, with 72 percent of people who own voice-activated speakers using them daily as part of their routines, per Google. We are seeing an increase in people using voice assistant technologies over traditional interfaces like keypads, touchpanels, smartphones, and remote controls as a preferred method of controlling their homes. The rise of voice assistants aren’t just for the tech enthusiast or those that are tech-savvy. “Prior to voice control, we often heard about households where only the father would use the home control system,” says Alex Capecelatro, CEO of Josh.ai, “At the early stages of technology, it may have been more appealing to early adopters and millennials. We’ve reached the point now where voice control has been embraced by all ages and genders for its simplicity and is recognized as a solution for those with poor vision, mobility, or simply a fear of technology.”
Continued Advancements
The voice assistant from several years ago vastly differs from the improved voice assistants of today. Like any new technology, voice control quickly grew and went through its fair share of growing pains. In the beginning, voice assistants and smart speakers only knew a handful of commands, often misinterpreted those commands, and sometimes struggled to hear users’ requests. Additionally, these first-generation voice assistants could only control a select few smart home devices. Over the years, voice control systems have been engineered with more advanced microphones to improve intelligibility, advanced speech recognition engines to understand varied rhythms and patterns of speech and technology that enables them to integrate with many popular home control systems. The voice assistants have become so smart that one spoken phrase, such as “I’m home,” can command several devices, such as turning on the hallway light, adjusting the thermostat, opening the shades, and turning on a favorite playlist. These functions are especially helpful for those that have limited mobility or are disabled. The advancements in voice control technology have eliminated the need to tap buttons on a smartphone or tablet, find a keypad, or type information with your remote control.
A Voice Controlled Home
Voice assistants and smart speakers may have started as an information hub, but consumers now expect to use these devices for more advanced taste. There is tremendous value in voice assistants managing home security and providing connected home automation. There are a wide variety of applications in which voice control is ideal. For example, it is not only useful when your hands are occupied, but it is also great for setting up presets to make day-to-day life more manageable. Perhaps you have a party mode which tunes into a specific playlist, while also turning on the outside lighting. Use your voice assistant to tune into a TV program instead of manually scrolling through menus through a remote or mobile app.
Security and Privacy
One big concern we see from homeowners is a fear of an invasion of privacy. Mass market voice assistants and smart speakers can lack robust security features and be a gateway for hackers. Modern Home Systems, recommends Josh.ai and Savant Systems, which are professional solutions engineered with the highest security and privacy standards. Since their inception, Josh.ai and Savant Systems were engineered with advanced privacy standards and designed to be installed by professional certified integrators. Both platforms offer a more comprehensive and secure alternative to Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Home Assistant, and Apple’s Siri. Most of these mass-market devices conduct their voice processing in the cloud, which can leave them susceptible to hacker attacks. Josh.ai handles its processing on local hardware instead of the cloud, which ensures privacy. Professional integrators, like Modern Home Systems, help improve the reliability and accuracy of the system and ensure that your home has a safe and secure network as well.
Plays Well With Others
While installing a voice assistant creates a more hands-free home, it is best to take a layered approach to your home automation system. There are certain situations where having a keypad, touch panel, remote control, or smartphone makes sense. By layering in other methods of into your voice controlled home, homeowners will experience a more robust solution for whole-home automation.
Voice-controlled assistants and systems can provide homeowners and those with disabilities an improved quality of life with the simplicity of a voice command. Enhance your day-to-day with the ease of voice control and home automation. Contact Modern Home Systems today to learn more about which system works best for your lifestyle.