Future Technology: Smart Homes at LivingKitchen

According to a survey conducted by Interhyp AG, a provider of private mortgages, most consumers (55%) are primarily interested in smart home technology for security reasons. Saving energy was also important to the respondents, with 49% and 46% saying that they would decide in favour of a solution to manage heating and lighting respectively. Following far behind were media and entertainment (33%) and health, comfort and wellness (24%). However, these results also show that consumers have limited awareness of the full potential of the smart home. Everything that is possible and how well high-tech and comfort can be combined will be demonstrated at the fairs imm cologne and LivingKitchen with various cross-solution application examples.

This year, the special exhibition Smart Home organised in cooperation with the “Let’s be smart” initiative can be found in the new Future Technology event area of LivingKitchen. In Hall 4.1, a large number of manufacturers and service providers will show how smart home applications can be safely, comfortably and efficiently integrated into everyday life and make it more enjoyable.

Based on the technologies already available today, the possibilities of digitalisation in the kitchen and living area will be shown on an area of around 600 square metres. Besides safety, energy conservation and efficient household management, Future Technology also deals with the positive influence that smart living can have on health, sleeping comfort, home aesthetics and living climate. The combination of furniture and technology as well as the development of cross-device applications goes together with the interior design trend of dissolving the boundaries between the individual living areas.

The focus of the “Let’s be smart” initiative is networked technologies. Their influence on people’s living environment will be brought to life in three living scenarios at LivingKitchen, including a semi-detached house, a business apartment and a loft. Clear examples of digitalisation in the kitchen and living area will be shown, which take into consideration the arguments of technology enthusiasts as well as the issues of aesthetic purists and critics – the key word here is data protection.

Miele will be presenting a number of products, including its G7000 smart autonomous dishwasher as a world innovation. The system, which is controlled by a PowerDisk and can be programmed via app, dispenses detergent automatically and uses a custom-created power granulate for this purpose. In addition, it will also present its Miele@home smart home system, which makes it possible to network all household appliances and voice control with Amazon Echo, the Alexa Voice Service.

The company Mues-Tec will present the Kitchen Smart touchscreen designed specifically for standard 600 x 450 mm kitchen cupboards. The touchscreen is also equipped with voice control, camera, microphone, built-in loudspeakers and internet connectivity via WiFi or LAN, and it is not just there for making music in the kitchen.

In the sector of air purification, the company Ozonos will present a piece of furniture with additional benefits that removes odours, germs, viruses and bacteria in a natural way. The ozone-based Ozonos Aircleaner integrated in an attractive floor lamp provides cleaner and healthier indoor air without any chemicals or special filter systems.

Lasfera also wants to ensure good air quality in the smart home with its CUBE plant furniture from its Planted collection, whose graphic structure combines aesthetics with adjustable growth light and long-term irrigation. As part of the trend towards indoor gardening, these cubes can not only be be used as attractive portable room dividers but also vertical herb gardens, which create exciting lighting effects by means of a time control. Bega provides smart lighting for the garden as well as for the exterior and interior of the house for all components.

Smart floor and wall heating systems from Fluxxotherm are no longer to be seen. Here, an innovative, maintenance-free special fleece is incorporated under or on the screed, which evenly distributes heat in the room in the low-voltage range and can be individually controlled.

Auping provides a good climate in the bedroom with its Smart Bedroom, which is well ventilated by an automatic vacuum cleaner and air filter before going to bed. The scenario ranges from time-controlled functions such as opening curtains, music or preparing coffee to adapting the room to an ideal sleeping climate with a sleep robot that automatically opens windows when needed, preheats mattresses or adjusts the angle of inclination according to the user’s sleep behaviour.

The advantages of Smart Home are not just what you see. The Future Technology exhibition highlights less obvious benefits that go beyond safety and energy savings. In order to support this aim, guided tours will be given four times a day where visitors can experience how the combination of a language assistant with the front door and a kitchen front increases both comfort and accessibility.