There is no place like home...

This is a classic scene from The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy returns from Oz! Well, what if our homes were magical like Oz -- the modern version of it anyway?? 

When I was nine, Dad built me my first computer model. I fell in love with all things related to technology. You always hear of stories where kids say they want to be an astronaut. Well, in my case, at least back then, I was fully convinced that I would become a computer engineer some day. Which I did. But only years later did I realize that it was not the love for computers that sparked a nine year old's imagination. In fact, it was a world of marvel that fueled his curiosity. Here was a "box" that could answer my questions, no matter how many I had. Here was a "box" that did not get mad at me asking so many questions. And here was a "box" where I could do different things...play, write, and hear music.

Circa nineteen years forward. In today's hour and time, when Prof Walls asked that we pick a topic to write a paper on, I wondered what I should do. After a walk and a nice cup of tea, I decided on my topic. It had all started in my home. That place where I first experienced the marvel of modern technology. That very place where I first witnessed the proverbial "giant leap of mankind" -- technology. So I wondered -- have we reached the point where every home would be technology driven aka smart? Homes that are not just smart, fully automated, efficient, and effortless...but truly integrated into the "home experience" for everyone.

Imagine you are seated in your "smart home". All your devices are "intelligent" --from tv to refrigerator.. from doors to windows.. from lights to air conditioners..absolutely everything..you would use your tablet or smartphone to change the scenery on walls or switch movies or channels on TV.. Or intelligent sensors turn on the brightness of lights based on the environment.. Or that air conditioners modify the temperatures according to people's activities..

Just imagine.. play along with me.. What if all devices could be charged wirelessly? We already have doors that open and close based on sensors. We already have lights that turn on/off based on occupancy. Staples Connect allows you to use an app to control many things in your home... Nest thermostat remembers your hand setting.. what if you could say aloud "get me a coffee" and a machine served you one immediately? Briggo Version 2020?? Things that once looked sci-fi are now slowly becoming a reality. Many of the things that we look for in a "smart home" are well on their way... question is not what or how, but when..


So, the  potential topic of my paper is: 
"Smart homes" - What do people really want? (subject to Prof Walls' approval)

Some of the questions related to this are: Are we close to "smart homes" more than ever before? Would people want to live in such houses? Just remind yourself -- not every house is a home....a home is where people live, laugh, and do all those things that make them happy and "human"... Is "smart home" that place? Are people ready for such changes? What will be their attitudes and emotions? What do people really want in their smart homes?

So why is this topic important to me? As I wrote earlier, home is where I was first introduced to a "box" of technology. Over the years, I have seen technology make rapid advances. My fascination has not ended..But now I want to explore this topic from both sides -- what are the technology advances that will define a true smart home.. and how are people going to accept them and incorporate them into their living style. I purposefully choose to write living style over lifestyle here because I feel it conveys so much more, describing a home as a place of being, thinking, imagining, and doing all things dear to us. 

The next question then is -- what has this got to do with customer insights? how does design thinking come into picture? Well, smart homes are ultimately where people will live.. spend a majority of their lives.. these places should be a reflection of what they see, what they believe, and what they want. Today, in class, we discuss how we should incorporate "design elements" into designing various products.. Prof Walls once remarked something similar to this .."sometimes the whole is not a sum of every part".. well, I think this is a classic example.. It is one thing to design a smart technology that people will love.. but it is totally another challenge to envision "a complete smart home experience". This will require designers and technologists to take into consideration so many different things...

-- how do people live?
-- what things, devices, and surfaces do they interact with? how? do they like somethings over others? if so, why?
-- what do they do at home? what kind of activities? do they do them alone or with their complete family?
-- is home just another "place where people are" or is it something much more?
-- would automation qualify as a smart home or do people look for something more meaningful? Here is an example: Do i want a gadget that automatically restocks my groceries by placing online orders OR Should that gadget be able to sync up with calendars and grocery inventory to understand we are having a family get-together..which may mean figuring out a special meal.. OR Something totally different...May be simply store and sort groceries intelligently based on people's food habits, dietary restrictions, and eating preferences,.. I don't know as I write...and I probably won't even after the paper.

Right now, I have collected a couple of articles which I think are good leads..
First one is a report by Arthur Little: Catching the Smart Home opportunity It tries to highlight some of the potential smart home technologies.. Second one is the more interesting article..Microsoft Research: Homes that make us smart. This one talks about how technology is just a resource for the intelligence in a smart home...and that in reality, the smartness of the home comes from various interactions we have throughout our activities and home surfaces.. I find this an intriguing argument. While it is very easy for many like me to fall prey to envisioning a technology driven smart home.. this paper cautions against this very aspect, It highlights the uniqueness and special characteristic of our smart homes as being more people driven.. and that technology is a facilitator, not necessarily the main driver!

The authors describe a device called the "Whereabouts Clock". Such a device allows family members to observe the whereabouts of other relatives. JK Rowling described a similar device in the Weasley household!! Coming back to the clock, the authors envisioned the use of cell phone towers and smartphone apps to provide location updates.. where each family member is..whether they are in school or work or play. I can imagine how useful this may be to a worried Mom.. just like Mrs Weasley.

Another example the authors describe is something that I can totally relate to. Managing clutter at home. We have so many things we collect and store. Example: papers, books, letters, etc First, we hate to spend time sorting it out. Second, its another chore that none of us want to do. I can imagine a system, an organizer, which allows us to store documents better. A colored bowl or bin? It could be a start. Bring in some technology. Bowls that scan documents and upload to the cloud --easy to access, search, and sort! Now, this is not at all a futuristic technology right? We have scanners today. If someone could figure out how to enable a scanner in bowl, we have this "Clutter manager"... just another intelligent solution. Nothing automated, but greatly enhances human interaction with those documents. 

In short.. what I am getting at is the case, at least to me, seems to be: 
Is smart home a technology driven OR technology facilitated home? 
Without getting lost in semantics.. I am guessing that the authors are making a case that complete automation may not necessarily be the only way..and that exploring human interaction with technology might be a good way to start considering different possibilities. I hope to dive deep into this thought process through my paper.