Page 24 - AT

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Tuesday 8 January 2019

Home items are getting smarter and creepier, like it or not

By ANICK JESDANUN that you’re not undercook- most important to them.” fact that they are also be- allows Kohler’s app to dis-
Associated Press ing the side dishes in focus- Samsung has several voice- ing spied on.” play how much water is
NEW YORK (AP) — One ing too much on the en- enabled products, includ- Gadgets with voice con- dispensed. (Water bills typi-
day, finding an oven that tree. A camera inside lets ing a fridge that comes with trols typically aren’t trans- cally show water use for the
just cooks food may be as you zoom in to see if the an app that lets you check mitting any data back to whole home, not individual
tough as buying a TV that cheese on the lasagna has on its contents while you’re company servers until you taps.)
merely lets you click be- The market for smart devic-
tween channels. es is still small, but growing.
I n t e r n e t - c o n n e c t e d Kohler estimates that in a
“smarts” are creeping into few years, smart applianc-
cars, refrigerators, thermo- es will make up 10 percent
stats, toys and just about of its revenue. Though the
everything else in your features are initially limited
home. CES 2019, the gad- to premium models — such
get show opening Tuesday as the $7,000 toilet — they
in Las Vegas, will showcase should eventually appear
many of these products, in entry-level products, too,
including an oven that co- as costs come down.
ordinates your recipes and Consider the TV. “Dumb”
a toilet that flushes with a TVs are rare these days, as
voice command. the vast majority of TVs ship
With every additional smart with internet connections
device in your home, com- and apps, like it or not.
panies are able to gather “It becomes a check-box
more details about your item for the TV manufac-
daily life. Some of that can turer,” said Paul Gagnon,
be used to help advertisers an analyst with IHS Markit.
target you — more precise- For a dumb one, he said,
ly than they could with just you have to search for an
the smartphone you carry. off-brand, entry-level mod-
“It’s decentralized surveil- el with smaller screens — or
lance,” said Jeff Chester, Two different sizes of the HiMirror uses its skin analysis technology, to assess your skin for wrinkles, go to places in the world
fine lines, dark circles, dark spots, red spots, roughness, and pores, shown here at the CES Unveiled
executive director for the at CES International, Sunday, Jan. 6, 2019, in Las Vegas. where streaming services
Center for Digital Democ- Associated Press aren’t common.
racy, a Washington-based “Dumb” cars are also
digital privacy advocate. browned enough, without grocery shopping. New activate them with a trig- headed to the scrapyard.
“We’re living in a world opening the oven door. this year: Samsung’s wash- ger word, such as “Alexa” The research firm BI Intel-
where we’re tethered to As for that smart toilet, ing machines can send or “OK Google.” But de- ligence estimates that by
some online service stealth- Kohler’s Numi will respond alerts to its TVs — smart TVs, vices have sometimes mis- 2020, three out of every
ily gathering our informa- to voice commands to of course — so you know heard innocuous words as four cars sold worldwide
tion.” raise or lower the lid — or your laundry is ready while legitimate commands to will be models with con-
Yet consumers so far seem to flush. You can do it from watching Netflix record and send private nectivity. No serious inci-
to be welcoming these an app, too. The company Other connected items at conversations . dents have occurred in
devices. The research firm says it’s all about offering CES include: Even when devices work the United States, Europe
IDC projects that 1.3 bil- hands-free options in a set- — a fishing rod that tracks properly, commands are and Japan, but a red flag
lion smart devices will ship ting that’s very personal your location to build an on- usually stored indefinitely. has already been raised in
worldwide in 2022, twice as for people. The toilet is also line map of where you’ve Companies can use the China, where automakers
many as 2018. heated and can play mu- made the most catches. data to personalize expe- have been sharing location
Companies say they are sic and the news through its — a toothbrush that rec- riences — including ads. details of connected cars
building these products not speakers. ommends where to brush Beyond that, background with the government.
for snooping but for conve- For the most part, consum- more. conversations may be As for TVs, Consumer Re-
nience, although Amazon, ers aren’t asking for these — a fragrance diffuser that stored with the voice re- ports says many TV makers
Google and other partners specific features. “We try to lets you control how your cordings and can resurface collect and share users’
enabling the intelligence be innovative in ways that home smells from a smart- with hacking or as part of viewing habits. Vizio agreed
can use the details to they customers don’t think they phone app. lawsuits or investigations. to $2.5 million in penalties in
collect to customize their need,” Samsung spokes- These are poised to join Knowing what you cook or 2017 to settle cases with the
services and ads. man Louis Masses said. internet-connected secu- stock in your fridge might Federal Trade Commission
Whirlpool, for instance, Whirlpool said insights can rity cameras, door locks seem innocuous. But if in- and New Jersey officials.
is testing an oven whose come from something as and thermostats that are surers get hold of the data, Consumers can decide not
window doubles as a dis- simple as watching con- already on the market. The they might charge you to enable these connec-
play. You’ll still be able to sumers open the oven door latter can work with sen- more for unhealthy diets, tions. They can also vote
see what’s roasting inside, several times to check on sors to turn the heat down warned Paul Stephens, di- with their wallets, Stephens
but the glass can now dis- the meal, losing heat in the automatically when you rector of policy and advo- said. “I’m a firm believer
play animation pointing to process. leave home. cacy at the Privacy Rights that simple is better. If you
where to place the turkey “They do not say to us, Chester said consumers Clearinghouse in San Di- don’t need to have these
for optimal cooking. ‘Please tell me where to put feel the need to keep up ego. He also said it might so-called enhancements,
The oven can sync with (food) on the rack, or do al- with their neighbors when be possible to infer ethnicity don’t buy them,” he said.
your digital calendar and gorithm-based cooking,’” they buy appliances with based on food consumed. “Does one really need a re-
recommend recipes based said Doug Searles, general the smartest smarts. He Manufacturers are instead frigerator that keeps track
on how much time you manager for Whirlpool’s re- said all the conveniences emphasizing the benefits: of everything in it and tells
have. It can help coordi- search arm, WLabs. “They can be “a powerful drug Data collection from the you you are running out of
nate multiple recipes, so tell us the results that are to help people forget the smart faucet, for instance, milk?”q