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The development of so-called 'Smart Products' has created a mini-boom in recent years, bringing cutting edge technology right into the home. These new products include bathroom scales which not only tell your weight but also work out how much body fat you have and how much you weighed last time. There are microwave ovens which "know" how to cook by examining the food themselves without you having to program them first. There are even electronic contraceptives which can tell you when to have sex without getting pregnant.
Many of these products require sophisticated information processing using microprocessors, or electronic chips, embedded into their design. Some use special materials that react in certain ways. The possibilities created by this new way of applying technology seem endless. Nearly every conventional product could be improved or given extra capabilities by having a chip embedded within it. Click here to learn about the six steps to creating these new possibilities or innovations.
The word 'smart' could be applied to a vast number of new products. But truly 'smart' products create more benefits for the user than simply allowing him or her to programme them. Truly smart products respond automatically to changes in their environment or to specific actions or requests demanded by their users.
Smart products
- perform functions over and above those purely concerned with processing information;
- demonstrate dynamic, real time interaction with their users or their working environment; and
- make use of considerable information processing or manipulation.
Huge potential for growth
Smart products employ relatively recent technological developments, which means they have enormous potential for growth. We can reasonably expect smart products to replace virtually all their conventional cousins, as the knowledge and techniques used to create them become better known and more widespread. But based on past examples of similar technological progress in the consumer sector, it may take time. It took decades for example for electric motors to become as widespread as they are now in everything from washing machines to electric screwdrivers.
More than just information processors
Over and above pure information processing, smart products have the capability to achieve much more - such as making perfect toast, or enabling the elderly to live independently in their own homes. NewsPad, the electronic newspaper tablet, can process information and interact with the reader by remembering favourite items and suggesting links to areas of interest.
Degrees of interaction
Smart products need to respond in a sophisticated way to their external environment. The relationship between a smart product and the environment involves interactivity. Some products require the conscious intervention of the users whilst others operate without the user's explicit awareness. Persona, the electronic contraceptive, requires a variety of forms of interaction such as urine testing, inputting of dates, reading of icons in order to operate.
Ordinary functions made cleverer
Nearly any ordinary function can be enhanced to produce a smart product. An example that shows how this can happen, is the coffee maker equipped with a smart tag reader to communicate with a range of user's mugs. These ensure the preferred style of coffee (espresso, cappuccino etc) is delivered, and keep statistics about overall coffee requirements and how they vary during the day.
Emerging new product sectors
Among the many emerging smart products, there are some areas of applications which will clearly become more important than others. These may eventually constitute entirely new sectors of activity in their own right. Click here to find out more about some of the promising new product sectors.
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