Parks Associates an international research firm, presented their 25th annual CONNECTIONS Premier Connected Home Conference https://www.connectionsconference.com virtually on May 26, 2021, featuring new smart home use cases driven by sensor technology and AI.
Parks Associates research finds that 34% of U.S. broadband households own a smart home device and 15% own 6+ smart home devices. Currently, 40% of U.S broadband households are very likely to buy a smart home device in the next six months.
The session on Sensor Innovation and AI-Driving New Use Cases discussed new developments that are bringing the advantages of AI and machine learning into the smart home.
Examples range from chips able to locally interpret voice commands to new video verification technologies in security cameras, to health devices capable of applying predictive analytics to evaluate risk based on information from sensors in the room.
Providing insight, Chris White, Senior Analyst at Parks Associates explained that AI is making smart products smarter by being facilitated by edge power and support from the cloud. As a result, today’s homes have 3+ devices and 15% have 6+ devices.
Todd Mozer , CEO Sensory https://www.sensory.com, discussed how the company is a pioneer in Edge AI, Neutral Nets, Deep Learning, plus Voice and Vision technology mostly used by many CE companies. He described how Sensory’s VoiceHub, a Voice User Interface creation platform, is able to streamline the addition of voice control features into products by using voice commands that use a large vocabulary in different languages.
Sensory is dealing with the security threat posed by connecting everything to the internet by using Edge voice assistance. Edge computing enables the opportunity for the device to be released on the cloud.
However, although people love the convenience of mainstream voice assistants, other issues may involve privacy, dealing with accuracy, along with other issues such as complicated setups and connectivity continues to be a growing concern among users. These concerns have intensified the need for custom private voice assistants.
Sensory’s technologies are helping custom voice assistants go mainstream with the ability to power everyday appliances such as a voice controlled microwave oven using AI. This oven uses technologies to provide all the benefits of a custom voice assistant without the privacy compromises of cloud-based general purpose assistant platforms. The thought is that custom voice assistants are going to be the biggest voice AI trend for 2021.
Vaidhi Nathan Founder and CEO, IntelliVision https://intellivision.com an AI/Analytics company focused on videos and cameras was acquired by Nortek Control https:/ nortekcontrol.com, so he is now SVP of the company.
He explained how IntelliVision invested in the field of AI, neural networks and deep learning. The company developed AI/Analytics for home sensors to help seniors and others in homes improve their ability to stay in the home and also to provide safety.
He further explained how the company in developing the Advanced Driver-Assistance System’s (ADAS) facial and license plate recognition technology, finds that the system is now up to 99% accurate. The ADAS by providing advanced driver assistance dashcams, is helping 1.5 million drivers drive more safely.
For 25 years, CONNECTIONS™, has brought together industry players from the consumer technology ecosystem for networking opportunities and industry research. During the Conference, sponsors offered demos during virtual networking events, spotlighted new technology innovations and services for the entertainment, mobile, and smart home market segments.