CES 2015: Will Smart Homes go mainstream this year? Let's see what's in store

Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at Las Vegas will commence on 6th and will go on till the 9th. Like every other year, we are going to be subjected to some interesting and hopefully innovative technology next week. While we have already looked at what products are expected from the major players in the mobile segment, there is one segment that we are seeing being teased over the last couple of years.

That segment is the smart or connected homes. In 2015, around 38 million homes across the world are expected to have a Smart Home system. Connected home shipments are expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 67% over the next five years according to Business Insider Intelligence estimates.

LG had introduced the HomeChat system to help home appliances send you messages and vice versa. Samsung showcased a smart home integrated system concept , which would allow you to communicate with home appliances as well. Last year we also saw the acquisition of Nest , a smart thermostat, by Google. Not to mention Apple’s HomeKit announcement  at WWDC 2014.

It looks like the stage is set to see some evolutionary changes in the smart or connected home segment. Let us look at which companies are working on this segment and what we can expect to see at CES this year

Smart Home Marketplace

This will be a dedicated 25,000 square-foot area dedicated to showcase smart home technologies in their regular use-case scenarios. Presented by German company Bosch, the marketplace’s focus will be on creating efficient and smarter homes. It will have solutions from smartphones and tablets communicating with connected objects inside your house to customised security monitoring and home automation technology. Participating companies include Bosch, Honeywell, Logitech, Zigbee, among others.

LG

LG had shown some smart home concepts last year, but it didn’t really take off, at least not globally. But that isn’t stopping LG from showing off some more smart home appliances at CES this year. It is planning to introduce an improved version of HomeChat which lets you control your air conditioner, dish-washer, ovens, wi-fi speakers via text messages. HomeChat, which was launched last year, is already available in Korea. It will also show off a fridge with an in-built camera which is capable of showing you what’s inside. So every time you close the door of your fridge, it will take a picture which can then be sent to your smartphone after you text the fridge. Apart from this, LG is planning to showcase smart ovens which can monitor recipes and download recommendations.

iDevices’ HomeKit based product

Apple as usual, will not be a part of CES. But its HomeKit system, which lets your iPhones and iPads control smart devices within your home using Siri, will be seen on some products. iDevices, a Connecticut-based company, has invested $10 million for development of products built on the HomeKit platform. On January 5th, iDevices has a press event, where it is expected to show off the first official HomeKit-enabled device. For all you know there might be other players too who will showcase some HomeKit-based smart-home product.

Shuttle SmartVille

Shuttle is an original design manufacturer (ODM) based in Taiwan and it will exhibit SmartVille , its in-house developed hardware and software integrated platform for smart homes. It’ll basically be a control-centre and will have healthcare measurement instruments to provide home-based monitoring and security surveillance. Shuttle will try to incorporate SmartVille in enterprise and schools and co-operate with architects or maintenance service providers to supply solutions and installation services.

Samsung SmartThings

Samsung acquired SmartThings last year in order to create an open smart-home platform to get third party developers on-board along with device makers and consumers. SmartThings also announced support for Samsung appliances at Samsung Developer Conference. This support includes integration with Samsung refrigerators, air conditioners, washing machines and robot vaccum cleaners. This would allow Samsung users to control their appliances via a smartphone app with the SmartThings hub. It wouldn’t be a stretch to expect Samsung to announce some smart home products at CES.

There will most likely be a lot more companies showcasing smart home products across categories. But we just hope that CES 2014 is not repeated, where smart home concepts were showcased and never made it to the mainstream market. With Apple’s HomeKit in the fray, will things be different this year? Only time will tell.