Smart home control systems must be intuitive, easy to use, and reliable. In this article, we explore voice control and its role in 21st-century smart homes.
Prestige Audio is renowned for high-performance home cinema and luxury AV projects. We are also experienced smart home installers, crafting modern homes for customers over the years. We’ve gained deep insights into individual needs and know how to design systems that enhance home living. While we embrace cutting-edge functionality, we urge caution when relying entirely on voice control for smart home management.
A Brief History of Voice Control
Voice-activated control began in the 1950s with systems that understood only a few words. Significant breakthroughs occurred in the 1990s. By the early 2000s, the first voice-activated smart home systems were introduced, using X10 technology developed in the 1970s. In 2014, Amazon launched Alexa, followed by Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant. These assistants offered a fun way to gather information and could control smart home devices through voice commands. Sounds exciting, right? But let’s take a closer look.
The Limits of Voice Control
There’s an issue with relying solely on voice for a smart home. The programmable systems we use already know what the weather is, the time of day, and preferred entertainment settings. These systems anticipate customer needs and act accordingly. If you have to ask the system to do something, it’s already a step behind where it should be. Our smart home setups create scenarios for various activities, such as entertainment, cooking, waking up, or leaving for work, all without any manual input. This doesn’t mean our systems can’t be controlled manually or via voice commands. We provide attractive control points around the home for real-time adjustments, and we can integrate voice control where desired.
Voice control shines in specific areas—making quick adjustments at key points in the home. Entrance halls and bedrooms are popular spots for voice functionality, allowing users to make changes as needed. However, voice control should not form the backbone of the system.
Constantly giving instructions to a system might be fun initially, but it often adds an unnecessary step. In a fully automated home, sensors adjust the lighting as you move through different rooms. For example, when you walk into the kitchen, the lights and your preferred music or TV station turn on automatically. Control via the voice may seem ‘cool’, but in reality, it’s somewhat ‘basic’. Advanced home automation systems go beyond the need for voice commands.
At Prestige Audio, we offer voice control for those who enjoy it, but the heavy lifting is done by background systems that learn and adapt to clients’ needs. A true 21st-century home creates the scenarios you need without manual input, allowing you to focus on enjoying your day.