2022.03.30
Smart appliances for the future
Smart and connected appliances not only offer convenience to their users, but also come with a large portion of security. No effort is spared in the industry to ensure that these products are protected against intrusion and offer the greatest possible data security.
Smart appliances already offer a variety of useful functions and more are being developed at a rapid pace. Closest on the list is integration into the house's energy system to smooth out consumption peaks, utilize peaks in any own energy production via solar cells or wind power, and experience flexibility in the electricity tariff over the hours of the day. Big steps are expected in smart energy use in the future.
According to APPLiA Europe's statistical report, there will be four times more smart homes in Europe by 2024 than today.
”The use of smart home appliances could lead to energy savings of up to more than 15 percent according to the JRC’s 2019 report on smart homes and appliances,” announces Paolo Falcioni, at APPLiA Europe.
”Connected appliances will work to the benefit of the smart energy grids of the future. This increased adoption of smart appliances by consumers will in turn lead to reduced energy bills and significant comfort for households, helping to facilitate many daily activities,” Paolo continues.
Comfort
The combination of Wi-Fi-connected products, smart software and an intuitive app provides a multitude of benefits. Some of them make household chores easier, others provide completely new possibilities that make everyday life both more efficient and more convenient so you can spend more time doing what you enjoy most. Here we list some of these features that provide a higher customer experience:
Self-dosing washing and dishwashers
A self-thinking and self-dosing washing machine or dishwasher takes care of more or less everything itself. Apart from emptying itself of contents after the work is done, of course! Incredibly convenient not having to think about the correct dosage of a certain type of detergent or which program is best for the amount of laundry. The machine selects the best program itself and doses the right amount of detergent or dishwasher. To keep everything under control, you also receive a push notification when the detergent or dishwasher is running low.
Smart ovens
How wonderful does it sound to have a smart oven that is already perfectly heated when you walk through the door? Or maybe you even prepared a plate of root vegetables that are ready to grill when you get home! You can start, stop or keep the dish warm until you decide it's time to eat in your app.
Communicating refrigerator
Did your teenage son empty the fridge or did you run out of time this morning when you were supposed to make a shopping list? How about a camera in the fridge that shows you in real time what's going on in the milk section? Perfect when you're at the grocery store and want to know what needs to be replenished.
Voice control
With a smart speaker, kitchen appliances can be controlled by the user's voice. A voice command is all it takes to start the dishwasher, turn on the range hood, open the oven door or ask the oven when the food is ready. Great when your hands are full.
More tips for reading about smart appliances from some industry companies here and here.
Maximum security
With the increasing number of connected and smart products in homes, there are increasing demands on the security levels of these products. It is important that these connected products are protected and do not become gateways into the family network for hackers and others with malicious intentions.
Even before the connected product is connected to the home, no effort is spared in product development and production to guarantee the highest possible security against intrusion into the connected products. To find out more about the technology behind this, we asked an expert in the field, Lukas Kencl, Head of Digital Architecture and Cybersecurity at Electrolux.
What are companies in the industry doing to ensure the security of our connected appliances?
”The IoT industry has developed in close collaboration and to varying degrees has also adopted various IoT cybersecurity standards (such as NIST, OWASP, ENISA, ETSI, IETF). Electrolux is continuously participating in this and tracking such standards and implementing relevant cybersecurity governance to ensure that our products and services are maximally protected. We also frequently request third-party audits of our security work as confirmation.”
Are there any good examples of this?
”For example, mechanisms for the prevention of OWASP Top 10 IoT Risks fully integrated into Electrolux’s cybersecurity guidelines for connected products.”
What security levels are built into the appliances?
”The very latest and most effective cybersecurity technology is continuously used in our development, both in terms of increasing resilience to attacks and ensuring that services continue to be usable and maintained. Standard techniques include authentication using cryptographic techniques (PKI), and full encryption of all communications, privileged access management to all infrastructure, digital signatures, continuous monitoring, etc.”
Any tips for further increasing security in homes?
”Only use standardized protocols from respected vendors, use strong passwords, and always keep all software up to date where possible.”
We thank Lukas Kencl for the insight into the security work at Electrolux and note that, together with the interoperability of systems, consumer security and data privacy are an absolute priority in the white goods industry.
Final tip
Finally, we can provide an example of what you yourself as a user can do to achieve maximum security for your connected devices at home. Set up a guest wifi alongside your personal wifi. All connected devices are then connected to this guest wifi, which cannot then be used to access the family's personal files.
Another tip is to continue following APPLiAnytt to learn more about developments in smart homes.
Kent Oderud, Chairman of APPLiA
