What Are Smart Devices And The 4 Types You Should Know

Did you know that there are 258.54 million smart homes in the world? This was in 2021 and the number is forecasted to reach 478.22 million by 2025!

Today, we are surrounded by smart devices. Be it a smartphone, smart watch, smart home, smart city, smart car, smart lock, smart keychain, smart water bottle or even smart toilet! It’s quite difficult to imagine a product that doesn’t have a “smarter” version. In this smart era, do you ever wonder what are smart devices? 

Apart from your smartphone, there are many other smart devices that are quite useful in your day-to-day life. But fighting FOMO and choosing only the right ones for yourself is quite the challenge. 

To help you pick the right devices, I have listed out the different types of smart devices with examples. But before that, let’s start with the basics.

What Are Smart Devices?

A smart device is an electronic device that can connect and interact with other devices or networks using wireless technologies like Bluetooth, WiFi, 5G, NFC etc. I know, you are probably thinking this is almost every electronic gadget. Then what makes a device smart?

Unlike a normal electronic device, a smart device can interact with the user and other smart devices. They often operate autonomously or with little user interaction. 

Then what do smart devices include? They exhibit a range of computing properties like networking, operating system, sensors, human-computer interaction, including machine learning. In other words, they might have artificial intelligence. 

Keep in mind that just because an electronic device is “smart” it doesn’t necessarily have artificial intelligence. Not all smart devices can develop a mind on their own and become killer robots! 

Want to know about the AI apps that connect to smart devices? Check out these 5 best voice assistants.

Examples Of Smart Devices

Although most smart devices are small and portable, there is no limit to their computing abilities. They can be as simple as a smart plug or high-tech like smartphones or smart cars.

Some of the notable examples of smart devices include smartphones, smart cars, smart cards, smart doorbells, smart locks, smart speakers, smart lights, smart watches, smart bands, smart glasses, smart keychains, tablets, smart trash cans etc. 

The reason I didn’t include smart home or smart city is that home or city is not a device. You can’t buy a smart home but build one using smart home devices. 

Why Use A Smart Device?

Using smart devices has a lot of benefits. They streamline processes from wearable objects to smart homes to buildings to industries. 

I don’t have to tell you how useful (and addictive) smartphones are. You can connect other smart devices like a smartwatch, fitness band, and smart speaker to streamline your various tasks. You can control most of your smart home devices like refrigerators, dishwashers, TV, watching machines, air conditioner etc, from your phone itself. Smart devices in general help you to automate many of your daily tasks. For example, if you have a robotic vacuum cleaner, you can set it to clean your house daily at a specific time. 

Apart from automation, another area smart devices make your life easier is security. You can build and control the entire security system using smart locks, smart doorbells, smart alarm systems, CCTV etc. You can have smart security for a home, building, office and even large industry.

To better understand their uses, let me tell you about the different types of smart devices.

8 Smart Devices For Home To Build Your Smart Home

The word smart home gets thrown around so much these days, have you ever wondered what is a smart home? A smart home is the setup of devices and appliances such that you can control them remotely with your phone or automate them.

How do smart home devices work? 

Smart home devices usually have WiFi or Bluetooth using which they can connect to the internet or other smart devices. Some smart devices like smart speakers have built-in Artificial Intelligence through which you can control other smart appliances. You can even install AI apps like Alexa and Google Assistant on your smartphone to control the devices. 

Wondering what can smart home devices do? Here are some popular smart devices for home:

1. Smart Speakers

Smart speakers are one of the most popular and affordable smart home devices. They are often WiFi enabled and come with a built-in virtual assistant that interacts with you. Apart from listening to music and podcasts, you can control your home appliances, make calls, send messages, get news, traffic and weather updates and a lot more. Some smart speakers have small touchscreen displays with which you can view recipes, and videos and make video calls. The most popular ones are Google’s Nest powered by Google Assistant and Amazon’s Echo powered by Alexa. Check out my previous article to know what Alexa can do.

2. Smart Plugs

You need not buy expensive smart versions of your home appliances to build a smart home. You can just get a few smart plugs and connect your refrigerator, washing machine, water heater, air conditioner, dishwasher, and other home appliances. A smart plug looks like your regular plug but has WiFi or Bluetooth connectivity. You can control it using its companion app or virtual assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant. 

3. Smart Bulbs

Another affordable and highly useful smart home devices are smart bulbs. You can install them like your regular bulbs by plugging them into the wall socket. But you have to keep the physical switch always on so that they stay connected to the internet via WiFi. You can control them using the companion app or voice assistant. You can change their colours, brightness, hue, and contrast and schedule them to turn on, off or change colours at specific times. Philips, Panasonic, Syska, Wipro and Mi are some of the leading brands that make smart lights.

4. Smart Thermostats

Smart thermostats are thermostats that you can control from the companion app or voice assistants. Like most smart devices for home, they connect to the internet via WiFi. You can control your home’s heating, cooling, ventilation, air conditioning, temperature etc. remotely. You can save significant energy and money as you can schedule them and turn them off when nobody is at home. Some smart thermostats have sensors that automatically change the temperature as needed.

5. Smart Refrigerator

Smart refrigerators have normal smart features like WiFi, internet connectivity, and virtual assistant compatibility. But what makes them smart are additional features like a built-in touchscreen, displays, internal camera, temperature control for individual compartments, etc. You can view recipes and watch videos on the display or even read your notifications. Other benefits include alerts and warnings to change the water filter, when ice is ready, food expiry and so on. Since they are very expensive, many do not opt for smart refrigerators. 

6. Smart Locks 

Smart locks are electromechanical locks fit for doors that can be locked and unlocked without using a physical key. They often have WiFi through which you can lock and unlock with a companion app on your smartphone. You can integrate them into your smart home and access them via your voice assistant as well. Some smart locks have numerical keypads which can be locked or unlocked using access codes. 

7. Smart Doorbells

For an enhanced home security system, you can install smart doorbells. Smart doorbells have a camera and stream live video to your phone when a visitor arrives at your door. If the visitor is a stranger, you can talk to them or play an automated message if you are not at home.

8. Robot Vacuums

A robotic vacuum cleaner is a vacuum cleaner equipped with sensors, robotic drivers and programmable controllers that you can use for floor cleaning. It has rotating brushes, air-driven turbines and wheels that propel it to move around and pick up dirt and dust. Once turned on and set, it requires no human intervention while it completes cleaning your house or a room. Its obstacle-detecting sensors navigate it away from furniture, doorways, stairs and other objects. They can both sweep and mop your floor depending on the gadget. You can control and schedule them using its companion app or your smart home voice assistant.

6 Wearable Smart Devices You Need To Try

Wearable smart devices are electronic devices designed to use when you are wearing them. They are often close to or touch your skin so that they can detect, analyse, send information like vital signs and track your activities. Let’s see some of the cool wearable smart devices that you can try.

1. Smartwatch

In essence, a smartwatch is a mini-computer that looks like a watch and has a touchscreen for human interaction. You can use a calculator, check the time and weather, make calls, send messages, play music, check emails, and other similar functions, just like on a smartphone. Smartwatches connect to the internet via WiFi and connect to your smartphone through Bluetooth allowing you to check your notifications without unlocking your phone. You can monitor your pulse, steps, blood pressure, and other vital signs with their telemetry and biomonitoring capabilities. Some of the well-known smartwatches are Apple Watches, Samsung Galaxy Watches, Boult Cosmic, Noise ColorFit, boAt Storm etc.

2. Fitness Tracker

Fitness Trackers are wearable smart bands that you wear similar to your watch. They are the successors of pedometers and track steps taken, heart rate, calories burned, sleep and other fitness-related metrics. It is not the same as a smartwatch but smartwatches often include fitness tracking functionalities. Fitness trackers are cheaper than smartwatches and you can pair them with your smartphone via Bluetooth. Fitbit, Basis, Misfit, and Mi are some of the notable Fitness Tracker brands.

3. Smart Glasses

Smart glasses are, as their name suggests, eyewear that doubles as wearable computers. If you enjoy science fiction, you’re definitely familiar with the appearance of smart glass. It features a tiny computer inside that can process data and show the outcomes on the glasses’ display in real-time. Therefore, when you wear it, you can view more information and details in addition to your surroundings. Like most smart devices, you can connect it to your smartphone via Bluetooth.

4. Smart Clothes

Yes, there are smart clothes too. Although it is still in its development stage, it is usually used by athletes to track their vitals and progress. You can have smart t-shirts, smart shoes, smart socks, smart swimsuits and even smart pants. Smart socks can detect foot ulcers, smart shoes monitor your running form, smart yoga pants vibrate to improve your form during exercises, swimsuits indicate when you need to apply sunscreen and so on. Samsung and Wearable X are the notable brands that make wearable smart clothing.

5. Smart Jewellery

Smart jewellery is a gadget in the form of normal jewellery like a ring, bracelet, bangle, necklace, earring etc. but doubles as a health-monitoring device. One notable innovation in smart jewellery is the smart ring. You can wear it like a normal ring and it tracks and stores various health-related data which you can retrieve by connecting to your smartphone. Although these are mainly targeted at women, even men can use devices like smart rings. Oura ring and NFC Opn are two of the popular brands that make smart rings.

6. Head-Mounted Displays

Head-Mounted Displays or HMDs are probably the bulkiest wearable smart devices. These are nothing but your VR devices. You wear them on your head such that the display is directly in front of your eyes and fills your field of vision. The monitor is right in front of you immersing you in virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR). Some of the popular brands that make HMDs are Oculus, Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear, HTC Vive, HP Reverb, Sony PlayStation VR etc.

6 Smart Devices For Healthcare You Need To Know About

Apart from cool gadgets like smartwatches, fitness bands and smart jewellery, another area where wearable smart devices are extensively used is in the healthcare industry. Fitness trackers and smartwatches are limited to monitoring a few body vitals and activities. Whereas smart medical devices can operate as wearable tech or be implanted inside the body. Let’s see some of the useful smart devices for healthcare:

1. Smart Hearing Aids

Smart hearing aids are an effective treatment option for most types of hearing loss. These are advanced gadgets with noise reduction, sound and speech processing that ensures both clarity and loudness to the hearer. They have hi-tech feedback management that eliminates high-pitched screeches, whistles and squeals. If you have any hearing loss or know anyone with such a condition, smart hearing aids are a good affordable option.

2. Wearable Biosensors

Wearable biosensors are small, lightweight gadgets worn by patients to monitor their body vitals like heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, breathing rate etc in real-time. Patients who are hospitalised wear them so that doctors can keep an eye on them. Wearable biosensors proved highly useful during the pandemic when doctors and researchers could monitor patients in isolation and quarantine. Some notable examples of wearable biosensors are wearable electrocardiogram (ECG) and wearable Asthma Monitoring systems. 

Photo by David Baillot licensed under CC BY 3.0

3. Implantables 

Implantables are small smart devices that are in contact with the user’s body inside rather than outside. In other words, it is implanted into your body usually by surgery or swallowing pills. Pills with sensors are used to monitor blood pressure. Another example of implantable is the smart pacemaker which continuously monitors body temperature, oxygen levels, respiration and physical exertion of the heart. 

4. Connected Inhalers 

Connected inhalers are smart inhalers that come with a companion app. It helps people with asthma, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and other respiratory diseases to track their medication use. It reminds the patients to take their medication on time and can provide insights into their symptoms. 

5. Automated Insulin Delivery (AID) System

Automatic Insulin Delivery (AID) System works in conjunction with glucose monitors to inject the right amount of insulin at the right time into diabetic patients. Glucose monitors continuously track the patient’s body blood sugar levels while the AID system determines the insulin amount and injects it via an insulin pump. 

6. Smart Thermometer

A smart thermometer is a medical thermometer that can transmit its readings to its companion app on a smartphone. The app collects, stores and analyses the data and consolidates them into overall temperature maps. The app can advise when to visit a hospital, keep a log, set reminders for medication and identify outbreaks in certain areas.

6 Smart Devices For Car To Add In Your Car

Just like you can build your smart home by installing smart devices in your home, you can turn your regular car into a smart car by adding smart devices to your car. You don’t need to buy a Telsa car. Check out these cool gadgets that you can add to your car too.

1. Dashcam

A dashcam is a digital video recorder or camera that is usually placed on your car’s dashboard. It is an onboard camera that continuously records the front view while driving. Depending on the dashcam’s features, it can record rear, and other windows and a 360-degree view of the car’s interior. Apart from recording video, it can also click pictures and send them using 4G.

2. Digital Dashboard

It’s not just your smartphone that has an interactive touchscreen, your car can have it too. Digital dashboards usually come built-in with most modern cars. With apps like Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto, you can connect your smartphone to your car’s system. With this, you can access calls, messages, GPS, music, podcasts and maps hands-free. They often have Bluetooth connectivity and sometimes WiFi too.

3. Tire Pressure Monitoring System

Tire Pressure Monitoring System or TPMS is a small gadget that you can attach to your vehicle’s tires. As the name suggests, it monitors the air pressure inside the tire and reports it in real time to the driver. It alerts you on slow-tire leaks and low tire pressure preventing blowouts and accidents. These either come built-in or you need to separately install them.

4. Rear Parking Sensors

Hitting the wall behind in the garage or another vehicle in tight parking spaces is a common problem for most car owners. If your car doesn’t have a built-in rear camera, you can install one yourself. Rear parking sensors equipped with a camera eliminate the blind spots and gives you a 360-degree eye view. 

5. Head-up Display

An Automotive Head-up Display or HUD is a unit that projects vital information like car speed, navigation, mileage, traffic etc on your windshield. Think of it like the maps, speed, position and other details displayed on your PC or mobile’s screen in racing video games. Some cars have HUDs built-in on the windshield and come with touchscreen capabilities. Else, you can install one yourself.

6. AI-Enabled Accessories

You can also install AI-enabled accessories like a wireless charger for your phone, USB charger, cigarette lighter, radar detectors, car charger, air purifier, 4G and 5G hotspots, etc.

Wrapping Up

Now that you know what are smart devices, the next question you get is are smart devices safe? 

This is a difficult question to answer as it depends on the smart device you are using, its privacy policy, how hackable it is and other factors. But keep in mind that just because a device is smart, it doesn’t always have a mind of its own or an AI. Smart devices are smart because they can connect to the internet so that you can control them through a voice assistant, which is an AI. 

I hope by now it’s clear what are smart devices. I hope the different types of smart devices explained above gives you an idea about which devices you can use. These are just the tip of the iceberg and you will see more advanced innovations in the future. Which smart devices did you find most useful and why? Let me know in the comments below.