How to avoid getting smart home into chaos

Every time a new technology emerges, everyone wants to try. The last century of the 90 's is the website, later is the application, now, turn to the thing networking.

For companies entering this new market, they are facing a problem: people are not interested in it, they just want to make their life better. Although the product designers have thought a lot about the problems and potentials of intelligent home, we have put forward some suggestions for the companies that are involved in smart home.

Bad design? How bad can it be?

A product with a bad design is difficult to endure, even if it is eventually gone. Bad design can permanently damage the relationship between the brand and the consumer, and the Internet of things will magnify the experience. On the surface, in the daily use of the object to add intelligent technology will make life more convenient, but once the scale is not grasped, it will cause more trouble to users.

Consumers are not going to adopt products that simply use new technology as a gimmick, they need practical products and services. Smart home can make our life more relaxed, beautiful and efficient, so that we have more leisure time to accompany the family, thereby improving our standard of living. Sounds good, but is it really?

Let's assume, for example, that you've decided to redecorate the kitchen. You want to control the curtains through the iphone, you want the Smart coffee pot, keep the milk fresh, and you want an indoor garden with a solar sensor. So you buy all these equipment and arrange it.

Then, in a fine sunny afternoon, all these smart appliances are struggling to control the curtains. The coffee machine wants to close the curtains because it's imperative to keep the milk fresh. Solar Spit Stoker When you want to open the curtains, because it needs to be full of electricity for yourself, so that you can make tomorrow's breakfast. The indoor garden control system also wants to open the curtains because your basil needs to bask in the sun. So who should make the final decision? Obviously, that person is you. And it is very likely that you will be able to open or close the curtains every 20 seconds to tell you that the curtains are open, closed, turned on, closed, turned on, closed. This is obviously not a pleasant experience.

Now, imagine that this situation will appear on each individual application, interface, and Control Panel, and you have to wade through various parameter adjustments to try to make them peaceful. And, as more and more objects are added to your interior, garden, car, body ... Remember, in our time of life, there are many people who are not even willing to adjust the time on the VCR correctly.

This is not the only question. Today, consumers buy their kitchen appliances home and just want to use them as they wish. However, once a product is "networked", it is likely that some out-of-the-box actions are made according to other people's assumptions, rather than following the user's intent, which is a frustrating experience for consumers, regardless of the initial starting point.

This is the Internet industry in the design of products is a need to carefully consider a problem. We are people, full of individuality, have their own different needs and preferences, many people can not even clearly describe the daily life habits. These factors need to be fully considered before the product is introduced.

Companies need to think carefully about the relationship between products and users

In our own home, the most important relationship is not between us and the product, but between us and others-family, friends, lovers and guests. Our home furnishings directly reflect the life we want. For products, when they are plugged in and connected to other devices, these products should be more for the sake of the user, allowing the user to adjust the parameters and interactions according to their lifestyle, rather than forcing the user to adapt to the way the product works. The essence of the product is to work for us, help us to deal with the day-to-day affairs, rather than bring us more trouble and burden.

So for tech companies, how can these products for geeks and early adopters be improved to face the mass market? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Products can solve practical problems. If the user does not have the need, do not try to use technology to create a demand. Consumers buy products to solve their own problems, not to allow products to "intelligently" networking.

2. Do not introduce new issues. Ask yourself a question: Will your solution be used by consumers to replace existing old schemes? Or is this a whole new plan?

Nest Protect is a good example. For consumers, this is the type of device they can understand and the performance is better. It does well in some ways, such as the user can program it and remind himself not to leave the kitchen during cooking. However, it may cut off alarms in the event of fire, smoke, or user movement. The benefits turned out to be bad, and the company had to recall 440,000 sets of equipment.

Another example is the LG Smart THINQ Cooker, one of the features of which is the ability to remotely turn off the phone (if you don't remember to turn off the stove after you leave the house). However, users need to use the LG application to achieve this functionality, and due to operating system performance reasons, the application may not run on your phone. The cooker usually has a life cycle of more than 7 years, some high-end models even longer, consumers in order to continue normal use of these cookers, have to update the smartphone operating system many times a year.

3. Grow with the consumer. People tend not to look long in their buying behavior. They will not change their minds or make amends unless they have a major change in their lives, such as parenthood or buying a new home. Therefore, the introduction of the scheme to leave a reasonable upgrade space. The function of the product is not too abstract.

Sonos's home audio system is doing well in this area. Consumers do not need step, they can start with the entry model, and then gradually add more modules as needed. The reverse example is Nest Thermostat, a good product that can control and improve indoor temperatures, saving you money on energy. The benefits it brings to consumers are too abstract to really feel. Nest is thunderclap for early adopters, but what about the mass market? Let's wait and see.

Instead of distracting users with dazzling new technologies, vendors should always keep users at the center of the system. Truly excellent products can bring long-term benefits to the user, and then to the company's business to produce a sustained return.

(Responsible editor: Mengyishan)