Sound recognition critical to half of ‘top smart home use cases’

Analyst firm Parks Associates has published a market review of the trends, opportunities and challenges facing the smart home and connected entertainment industries.

In the 80-page report, which can be downloaded for free from their website, they surveyed US broadband households and identified the top 10 most appealing smart home device use cases among consumers:

  • Alerts when someone enters your home
  • Alerts when someone is calling “help”
  • Detects if there is a water leak in your home
  • Shuts off your home’s water remotely if a water leak is detected
  • Alerts when glass breaks
  • Alerts when a person has fallen down
  • Uses a battery to provide 4-6 hours of backup power during an outage
  • Alerts when a loud crash occurs
  • Automatically adjusts the hot water heater to reduce energy use when you are away from home
  • Uses smart watch/fitness device like a panic button to notify police or fire dept. when pressed

Of the 10 identified by Parks, five require intelligent sound recognition in order to provide the level of accuracy and reliability that consumers demand:

  • Alerts when someone enters your home
  • Alerts when someone is calling “help”
  • Alerts when glass breaks
  • Alerts when a person has fallen down
  • Alerts when a loud crash occurs

This report from Parks, along with our recent survey of consumer attitudes to AI in the smart home, highlights the key role that sound recognition plays in consumer homes. It is also clear from both surveys that consumers buy into the benefits that the sense of hearing offers from a security and safety perspective but also when it comes to health and wellbeing (in particular assisted living).

 



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