Wi-Fi technology – Australian Science

Going ‘Smart’: Interactive Home Technologies

Maya Edberg — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 11:04:23 +0000

The home is undergoing its greatest advancements since the 1950s. Instead of new appliances like the fridge and vacuum cleaner, we’re getting interactive technologies that are making our homes ‘smart’.

These developments are geared towards making our lives easier, cheaper (through lowered bills), and less hands-on. The following are just some of the technologies that will help homes look radically different in coming years.

Smart Thermostats

The smart thermostat is more than just managing the temperature of your home through a smartphone or tablet app. The Nest is the premiere example of what this technology can already achieve for your home today.

What really sets the Nest apart is that it’s a ‘learning’ thermostat. It takes notice of your schedule, knowing exactly when you leave your home, the typical temperatures you prefer at a given time of day and yes, it also allows you to tweak the settings from its app.

So how does it work? Nest uses a combination of activity and humidity sensors, current weather conditions (by checking forecasts through Wi-Fi), and temperature sensors to adjust the thermostat. As it begins to learn from your activity over time, you will need to be less involved in manually setting the temperature.

Image credit: Nest

Superior Lock Technology

The so-called ‘smart lock’ discards the need for codes or keys, allowing you to manage your entire home security system from your computer, smartphone or tablet. This nifty technological advancement keeps your home safe – even when you’re not around.

In addition to the ability to lock and open your doors securely without the need for the traditional key, you also get log records to see who’s gone in and out, temporary access for short-term visitors, as well as the superior security from encryption (similar to what’s used in the banking industry). It beats the danger of someone copying a lost key or cracking entry codes.

You can also check everything is as it should be long after you’ve left the home (saving you the trip back to double check), you can let in guests at the touch of a button without having to be there, and should anything untoward happen the app instantly notifies you. It all works through an app you install on your smartphone and the inbuilt Bluetooth technology that allows the lock to synch with your device. It’s all password protected, meaning only you can manage your system.

Image credit: August

One of the reasons these smart locks are so promising is that they ‘retrofit’ into existing single-cylinder deadbolts. This means you still have the capability of using the traditional key, as well as saving you the hassle of dismantling your entire doorway system from top to bottom in order to use the device.

We’ve already seeing a wave of start-ups and established brands offering devices that boast similar feature sets, and we only expect the demand to rise as the technology is further perfected. Don’t be surprised to see keys demoted to a museum display and out of day-to-day use.

Touch-Screen Fridge

The modern-day fridge has long offered more than just the ability to keep your foods chilled. The icemaker was an early break-through, but now the fridge is really starting to move into the 21st century.

The fridge has essentially become the manager of your entire diet. It keeps tabs on which foods are about to expire and even gives you recipe ideas based on what you’ve got in your fridge. When something’s about to run out (milk, for example) you get a warning so you can stock up early.

Image credit: Make it mine

In terms of technology, it’s all based on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). These days, many common food products have an RFID tag that can be automatically read by your smart fridge. Your stock list will be updated based on data gathered from a remote database of products. If you happen to buy something that doesn’t have a tag (such as organic food from a farmer’s market), then all you need to do is enter it manually.

Sleep Sensors

Ever wondered why you wake up groggy in the morning and can’t seem to get a good night’s rest? Perhaps the new wave sleep sensor technology can help. And if you’re already rolling your eyes, it does more than just track movement like some of the low-end apps for your smartphone.

This is a step up from anything we’ve seen on the market before. You don’t need to wear uncomfortable sensors on your body – all you need to do is attach it to your mattress. The device will then track your heart rate, breather, movement, and snoring. Not only that, it keeps track of your ambient environment. Your responses to noise and temperature will be tracked.

Image credit: Digital trends

The device will then give suggestions as to why you’re struggling to get decent shuteye. Perhaps it’s that your room gets a little too hot at night? Or maybe your partner tends to start snoring in the middle of the night, disturbing your sleep. You can then make adjustments to your sleeping habits, which can make all the difference in the amount of actual rest you get.

Cite this article:
Edberg M (2014-03-25 11:04:23). Going ‘Smart’: Interactive Home Technologies. Australian Science. Retrieved: May 15, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/technology/going-smart-interactive-home-technologies/

test

The post Going ‘Smart’: Interactive Home Technologies appeared first on Australian Science.

Impact of wireless networks on human health

Josip — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 06:59:32 +0000

In the modern days wireless technology has become indispensible and is a part of our every-day lives. We have it with remote controls, video cameras, baby monitors and of course mobile phones and wireless internet connections. Despite all its benefits many are concerned about its influence on our health.

Basics:

Wireless computer networks have become commonplace in our environment. Wireless hotspots are found in many public areas and, increasingly, in homes and schools. Wireless networks use low-powered radiofrequency (RF) transmitters called access points to communicate with other low-powered transmitters called client cards that are located in users’ laptop computers or other portable equipment. Nearly all of these wireless networks use Wi-Fi technology, although other wireless technologies are coming into use as well.[1]
Mobile telephony is now commonplace around the world. This wireless technology relies upon an extensive network of fixed antennas, or base stations, relaying information with radiofrequency (RF) signals. Over 1.4 million base stations exist worldwide and the number is increasing significantly with the introduction of third generation technology.

Image source: www.macfixit.com.au

There has been concern about possible health consequences from exposure to the RF fields produced by wireless technologies. This fact sheet reviews the scientific evidence on the health effects from continuous low-level human exposure to base stations and other local wireless networks.

Health concerns

To date, the only health effect from RF fields identified in scientific reviews has been related to an increase in body temperature (> 1 °C) from exposure at very high field intensity found only in certain industrial facilities, such as RF heaters. The levels of RF exposure from base stations and wireless networks are so low that the temperature increases are insignificant and do not affect human health.
In fact, due to their lower frequency, at similar RF exposure levels, the body absorbs up to five times more of the signal from FM radio and television than from base stations.

Cancer:

Scientific evidence on the distribution of cancer in the population can be obtained through carefully planned and executed epidemiological studies. Over the past 15 years, studies examining a potential relationship between RF transmitters and cancer have been published. These studies have not provided evidence that RF exposure from the transmitters increases the risk of cancer.
Considering the very low exposure levels and research results collected to date, there is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak RF signals from base stations and wireless networks cause adverse health effects.[2]
Also, the results, which are detailed in the Health Physics paper, show that in all cases the measured Wi-Fi signal levels were very far below international safety limits, specifically, those of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the International Commission on Nonionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP 2002). These limits were designed to protect against all known hazards of RF energy. [3]
The World Health Organization has acknowledged that electromagnetic fields (EMFs) are influencing the environment (but not people), and that some people are worried about possible effects. In response to public concern, the World Health Organization established the International EMF Project in 1996 to assess the scientific evidence of possible health effects of EMF in the frequency range from 0 to 300 GHz. They have stated that although extensive research has been conducted into possible health effects of exposure to many parts of the frequency spectrum, all reviews conducted so far have indicated that exposures are below the limits recommended in the ICNIRP (1998) EMF guidelines, covering the full frequency range from 0–300 GHz, and do not produce any known adverse health effect.[4]

Conclusion:

After conducting numerous researches on the subject of impact of wireless networks on human health, the same conclusion was reached: there is no convincing evidence that exposure to RF causes any health problems. However, there are some limitations as to how high a level of frequency people can be exposed to and it should be respected.

References:

[1] http://www.hps.org/hpspublications/articles/wirelessnetworks.html
[2] http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs304/en/index.html
[3] http://www.hps.org/hpspublications/articles/wirelessnetworks.html
[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_electronic_devices_and_health

test

The post Impact of wireless networks on human health appeared first on Australian Science.