Early last week Google marked its entry into the smartphone industry by launching its self-branded Pixel smartphone which are priced on-par with the Apple iPhones. Given the dominance in the software side of smartphones with its popular Android OS, it was very much expected that the company would take stock of the hardware segment also.
But alongside the Pixel smartphones, Google made some other trivial announcements which mildly hint towards the expansive future plans the search giant has in store. Google showed an unfazed interest in the Smart Home Automation industry by launching the Google WiFi smart router and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) based Google Home with deep integration of the Google Assistant.
Google’s interest in the Smart Home Automation industry was visible back in 2014 when the company went on rampage of purchasing Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) companies. After nearly years of research and development, followed by feedback-based testing, Google seems to be ready to strike the market on a larger scale.
Google Home
Back to the present, the Google Home is the company’s smart home assistant which would let you get instant answers to queries you would otherwise type on Google and read. The voice-based assistant can help you with your recipes when you are cooking or give you tips to clean the stain on your clothes or even help you make you make a shopping list. It would also intuitively respond to queries about time and the weather, for example.
Additionally, the Google Home assistant can also play music using the in-built speaker or stream movies using the Chromecast device. However, Google was very subtle in mentioning that the Google Home Assistant is very much capable of controlling the smart devices in your home and I’m not talking about just light bulbs.
Google WiFi
The next offering in store is the Google WiFi smart router, which is branded as an intelligent wireless router that offers seamless and uninterrupted WiFi network in every corner of your house by creating a connected network of access points at various parts of the house.
If you have by now started looking at the bigger picture, you probably have already realized that Google is looking far beyond than just giving you high-speed WiFi access in your home or playing music for you. Google clearly has ambitions of being the dominant name in your house, so much so that you might soon say, “Ok Google, open my bedroom door and switch on the lights”.
This scenario could very well be probable thanks to the Bluetooth, Weave and Zigbee radios which are inside the router. While they would be dormant presently, an update is all that it would take to bring them to life. Once they are back to life, they can easily communicate with any smart device in your house, be it your television, microwave or even your refrigerator.
What does Google plan in the future?
Is it just me or are you too reminded of the spooky SkyNet surveillance system used in Terminator? Yes, this could be unfortunately similar. While you would certainly get the simplicity of turning on your lights, getting your TV running with your favourite episode, the microwave getting your snacks ready even before you reach home, Google would also know about it.
Thanks to the Google Home assistant and the Google WiFi router installed in your house, Google will get in a lot of data very relevant to you. While I wouldn’t expect them to drop by for a bite of the pizza I just warmed up in the microwave, they certainly will reveal a lot of my personal habits like my routine, my preferences etc. This data would be then used for more specifically tailored ads, which will in turn pull in more revenue for the company while driving new businesses. The real question now is whether Google’s ‘HomeNet’ would be a loyal assistant and make life comfortable for us or would it eventually dominate us.
- Jonathan Pereira is a technology enthusiast with a keen eye for mobile and mobile technology. He’s a foodie by heart, and loves both the edible chips and the non-edible silicon chips. Find him on twitter @GoanIdle
