How IoT Application Development Services Are Transforming Smart Homes
The integration of our living spaces and technologies is accelerating. Homes are becoming smarter with the increasing number of different smart devices. They are kitchen appliances, security systems, lighting, thermostats, and other smart gadgets for home. IoT software development services have evolved quite a bit along with the demand for IoT devices. It is now not about one or two smart gadgets, it is about supporting an ecosystem with custom personalized rules for every home. As it was said in the PricewaterhouseCoopers report:
“Internet of Things is transforming the everyday physical objects that surround us into an ecosystem of information that will enrich our lives. From refrigerators to parking spaces to houses, the Internet of Things is bringing more and more things into the digital fold every day, which will likely make the Internet of Things a multi-trillion dollar industry in the near future.”
In this blog post, the attention is specifically given to the application development services that make it possible for smart homes to support enriched IoT ecosystems.
What Are Smart Homes and IoT?
Smart home, regardless of whether it is a large private house or a tiny apartment, is any living space in which there are devices that automate, control, or monitor. However, a lot of these devices come with their own applications provided by the manufacturer. IoT for a smart home often means a custom-built application that provides the ability to connect multiple devices from different manufacturers and meaningfully engage with them.
For instance, imagine a person buys a set of sensors to measure energy consumption and efficiency of their dwelling. The manufacturer’s application might simply gather the data and have basic notifications. For instance, a warning is issued that the energy consumption is above a certain level. With these applications, users often have to export this data to a spreadsheet to make further meaning out of it. Such as understanding why it is happening and what to do next. IoT software development services remove the need to figure out the data via a spreadsheet. They process and personalize this data into actionable insights, in combination with cooperating with other devices in your smart home.
For example, a custom-built IoT application can figure out what devices cause spikes in energy consumption. Further, they can analyze their settings and make recommendations on how to adjust their usage. Moreover, they can factor in the energy pricing data, as some utility companies charge higher prices for peak hours and apply lower rates for off-peak usage. As such, an app might figure out to preheat the rooms between 3 and 6 am so that you pay less for electricity. To push it even further, some devices consume energy when they are not used but are plugged in. In such cases, a custom IoT application system can power down the outlet.
Key Benefits of Smart Homes and IoT
The overview above provided benefits of a custom-built IoT app only for one function, such as optimizing a user’s home for energy consumption. The other benefits of smart homes and IoT are listed in the table below.
Table – IoT application development services for the benefit of smart homes
| Tech service | How does it benefit a custom app? | User benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Matter SDK (IP-based connectivity protocol) integration | IoT device manufacturers use the Matter protocol to improve interoperability, so that an IoT application development services company can develop a unified UI for control of multiple devices, provide custom automation logic, build either cloud or edge logic, and even build their own Matter-compliant controllers. | For example, one custom app that is Matter compliant can control Nest brand products, Philips Hue, and Alexa. This mainly provides enhanced user convenience. |
| AI-powered automation | AI learn how to anticipate user needs and automatically adjust IoT devices based on the previously observed user behavior. | This can enhance convenience as well as optimize the energy efficiency of a living space with minimal effort on the user’s side. |
| Edge computing support | An IoT app development company ensures devices are processing data locally, and only final computations are sent to the cloud. | Users enjoy heightened security of their data as well as faster and more reliably functioning IoT systems. |
| Biometric and context-based security | “A man’s home is his castle”. So, any advances in home security are often welcomed and must be implemented for a secure smart home. | This system may provide security, such as unlocking the door only if the user is at home, and then when an incoming person’s face match is confirmed. |
Challenges of Smart Homes and IoT
Major challenges of smart homes remain constant:
- Interoperability issues.
- Costly integrations for multiple devices (which is why Matter was developed in the first place, but there are still many devices that are not Matter-compliant).
- Security issues (which is one of the reasons why edge computing is developing so fast).
Mobile IoT app development also poses traditional challenges for a mobile application development company, which always revolves around:
- providing a great user experience on a limited real estate of a phone;
- providing real-time processing capabilities on different mobile devices, which might vary greatly in their respective capabilities.
