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The newest status symbol, automation is giving Indian homes and offices an air of sophistication

- Sneha Kanrar

As living spaces become more appliance-intensive and tech-driven, the need to automate them at a single point has become almost urgent. The idea is to master these devices instead of being a slave to them, by constantly fielding them. A slew of gadgets have been introduced into the smart home and office segment that promise to do just this: intuitively learn the user’s pattern of living, anticipate it and make life seamless.

Yash Chauhan, Business Development Manager, Mighty Pro Home, says, “We are surrounded by numerous machines and appliances such as ACs, TVs, set top boxes, home theatres, curtains, ovens, washing machines, geysers etc. These are advanced and complex to operate, maintain, monitor and manage. Hence, it has become necessary to smartly operate, monitor, gain analytics and automate them through a simple and common smart home automation platform.”

Ideally, a smart home comprises components such as lighting and curtain controls, a security system, climate, appliance and audio-video controls. Voice-enabled solutions such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home are trending in metros and big cities. In addition, switch automation is in high demand and expected to grow more than any other category.

Riddhi Savla, Marketing Director, Wretro, says, “Tiktok switches in modern homes and offices should be replaced with smart switches which function on touch and give a feel of automation. Products like the ‘IR transmitter’ and ‘gateway’ help operate homes via the phone and voice control from anywhere in the world.”