An Evening With Android: The Convenience Of Home Automation

Secretly, Tim is sort of happy not to go to the concert. It means a quiet and relaxing night in. Before pulling out of the office parking lot, Tim has the funny habit of checking his alarm system and home security cameras on his phone. He likes to see what kind of shape his driveway is in during the winter months to know if he needs to shovel or not when he gets home. Doesn’t look like much.

One last thing before leaving; since he wasn’t planning on being home until much later, he uses his remote thermostat to begin heating up the house earlier than planned.

Pulling into his driveway, he unlocks the house and opens the garage door through his phone’s security app. His home is at a nice 68° and he is ready to start his  relaxing night.

From the comfort of his couch, Tim pre-heats his Android-powered oven to 350° in preparation to make a toasted meatball sub. In the middle of dimming the lights, turning on his wireless speakers, and checking his email through his smart remote, he receives a text message from form his smart oven letting him know it’s ready for baking.

With some coffee left over in his coffee maker (synced to start when his smartphone alarm clock goes off) he puts it in his Android-powered microwave and hits his pre-programmed coffee reheat on the touch-screen to get it the perfect temp. It’s not the first time he’s reused coffee.

Sitting down with his meatball sub toasted to perfection, a warm cup of coffee and a movie on his Google TV, Tim’s night is almost complete. One problem: he forgot to dim the lights and lock the garage door. Home automation to the rescue! Using his light switch powered by embedded Android technology and also the smart alarm system, he’s able to dim the lights and remotely lock all of his doors – all without getting up.

As Tim falls asleep during the movie, the TV, oven, microwave, essentially the entire house all close down for the night as well. On a timer, the lights dim to dark, the security system double-checks locks, the temperature in the house drops to conserve energy and the oven (which Tim forgot to turn off) powers down automatically. Tim’s alarm recognizes it’s a weekend and will allow him a bit more sleep time. This entire scene is happening while Tim is sound asleep. This is a smart home. This is an evening with Android.