Remember the days before the TV remote control, when instead of rummaging around under the cushions or grabbing the device from the person who always seems to hog it and simply pressing the buttons as we do now, we had to drag ourselves up from the sofa and walk across the room to press the buttons on the TV set itself?

Haven’t things changed! Over recent years, smart home technology has made huge strides forward and now has the potential to control just about every aspect of our lives. There’s hardly a part of the home that can't be automated or controlled via smartphone/tablet app and I’m sure we have further to go before all the possibilities have been exhausted.

There are simple things such as turning on the lights and heating so we can come into a cosy home and opening the garage door as we approach. The washing machine can be loaded before we leave in the morning, then activated from our workplace so it’s just ready for us to empty while we drink that first cup of tea – no waiting time for that either as we can activate the kettle from down the road so it’s boiling when we get in.

Our bathwater can be regulated to stay at our chosen temperature all night if we wish, while those lucky enough to own a smart toilet can programme it to warm the seat prior to use and provide the perfect personal ‘wash and brush up’ afterwards while playing one's favourite music.

Then there are the smart appliances themselves… the dishwashers and washing machines that can calculate how much has been loaded into them and how dirty it is, before setting their own cycles to provide the best wash and dry in the most economical way. Our fridges and cookers meanwhile – and what they can do for us, has changed them beyond all recognition. We can now be notified when food is getting past its best and our cooking technology means we can produce gourmet meals without even really needing to learn how to cook!

I wonder how many of those that are old enough to have had to change the TV manually and who’ve been in the industry since their youth, will have envisaged the changes we’re now enjoying? And are they wondering, like me, where it’s all going to end? If you’re one of these people, I’d love to hear what you think...

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Yours,

Jan Hobbs