- June 19, 2020
- Posted by: Admin
- Category: Internet of Things
You’ve probably seen it in a few movies – a sci-fi home that can be controlled by your voice or by a single device. While this may still sound like a movie cliche, it has already become a reality today. Smart homes are now widespread. The emergence and development of the Internet of Things (IoT), together with the advances in technology, made intelligent homes accessible to everyone.
What Is A Smart Home?
A smart home refers to a home setup where devices and appliances are connected conveniently using a mobile or network device. Through this framework, a smart homeowner can control different house features like security systems, lighting, temperature, curtains, and home theater. A user can either use a smartphone or tablet or even the use of voice.
Because a smart home is part of IoT, it can share data and data usage among the devices. These homes are supposed to simplify and improve lives with just one click of a button or with only one voice command.
The demand for the smart home is surprisingly growing at full speed. With an estimated revenue of $84 million by the end of this year, experts expect it to balloon to $157 million in 2024.
Guide in Smart Home App Development
Before you create a great smart home app, you have to understand how it works. The smart home is the answer to technology on how much we crave to plunge into bed after a very tiring day while allowing the thermostat to blow on the perfect temperature your heart desires. Simultaneously, you prepare a warm drink in your kettle while still doing neither of them manually. You only need to press an appropriate button on your phone, and it is good to go.
As the demand for smartening a home continues to grow, competition in this industry is starting to get tough. If you plan to build an application for smart home integration, here are the things that you need to remember, which can guide you as you make a home smart.
1. Learn The Basics Of How Smart Home Works
The connected electronic devices that make a home smart use a protocol to talk to one another. This protocol acts as a signal to transmit a message from one device to another device to launch a specific action.
2. Decide On Which Smart Home App To Build
Once you have fully grasped how a smart home works, you can start your development journey by creating a smart home dashboard app. This dashboard will enable users to control their homes automatically. Doing the dashboard app is key to a successful smart home app development.
Technically, there are two types of apps you can choose from, a single-tasking app or a multitasking app.
Single-Tasking Smart Home App
Building a single-purpose app for a smart home means it only caters to a single and specific product. Whether it is just for the TV set, the light fixtures, or a smart kettle, a single-tasking app is what you need. While this is very easy to create and can provide optimum experience to its users, a smart homeowner will have to install a bunch of apps that defeat the primary purpose of comfortable living in a smart home.
MultiTasking Smart Home App
This app may be a bit complex to create and develop; however, a multitasking app is the most favored among the two by many users. A multitasking app connects multiple smart home devices that can give ease and efficiency to its users.
For developers, this may need more time to create with much more resources required and a pool of skilled professionals to develop it.
3. Know What Makes A Smart Home Consist Of
Smart home automation consists of three things: the hub, the sensors, and the actuators. The hub acts as the central controller, where small devices interact along with the user. It is the brain of the entire home automation system.
The sensors are responsible for receiving information like the current temperature, movement within the house, openings of a door, and even detection of possible leaks. After obtaining all of the information, actuators then directly execute the commands.
There are several ways to keep the devices connected. You can maintain a connection through WiFi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, or Z-Wave.
4. Take Note of Core Functions You Don’t Want To Miss
When creating the application, it is essential to know the nitty-gritty core function that allows a smart home to offer a seamless experience. These are the core functions you do not want to miss as you develop your app.
• Registration
When you integrate the user registration feature in the smart home application, you are building, remember that it connects to IoT. As IoT still has several issues regarding security, make sure to require your customers or users to create a unique set of usernames and passwords. Do not also include the use of social media credentials to sign up in the system. It is also best to send a verification code before allowing any signup.
• User Profile Creation and Configuration
After successfully logging in, users will have to create and configure their profiles. They can either be the admin with a complete set of rights for managing the system or a user profile with limited access to the home automation system.
• Clear Onboarding Process
While tech experts can easily understand IoT, developers, and enthusiasts, it can be a bit overwhelming for those non-tech-savvy people. A clear onboarding guide that will explain the basic principles of a smart home system can be a great help to your customers.
• Device, Sensor, and Room Selection Page
Admin and users of your smart home application should be able to access and see the lists of devices and sensors that they can control around the house. It is best to create a separate page for each of the devices and sensors for easy control.
You should dedicate another set of pages to the room selection feature where a user can select a specific room at the house. All the devices and sensors should be included on the page so it will be easier to set up simultaneously places around the house.
• Push Notification Feature
An excellent smart home app should alert users of all the possible actions within the smart home system. Let your app be able to send a particular notification signal whenever it spotted any unusual activity like water leaks, fire alarms, and even someone trespassing.
Final Thoughts
The smart home app development process may sound complicated, even for the best developers. To successfully come up with a functioning smart home app, you need to have a holistic approach to its development. It is not as simple as building a regular app for any smartphone. However, if you are patient enough and equip yourself with the necessary research and experience, your developed smart home app can go a long way.