4 ms·

Honest question: under what circumstances would it be beneficial for my dishwasher to be "smart" at all, let alone be connected to the Internet? If that isn't

by sdrinf 13y ago

Honest question: under what circumstances would it be beneficial for my dishwasher to be "smart" at all, let alone be connected to the Internet? If that isn't a demonstrative example, what specific devices _would_ be useful to have Internet connectivity, and in what specific ways?

maxerickson 13y ago
Remote temperature monitoring (and control). Current devices at least feel expensive, and they are generally some combination of arcane and crappy. I guess Nest is figuring this space out. At a low enough price point, being able to turn off lights and stuff like that is great, especially if there isn't much setting up involved. Lots of other things benefit from some sort of connectivity, being able to do data collection and monitoring over a network enables a much more passive approach (which I expect means more people will take advantage of the opportunity...).
Symmetry 13y ago
A whole lot of stuff related to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_grid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_grid
antimagic 13y ago
Remote diagnostics. The technician should already more or less know what is wrong with your machine before leaving the depot, which means s/he will already have the right parts / tools to get it fixed.
pcunite 13y ago
Send you a text when it is done or out of rinse aid. The text would actually go to your sibling so they can do their new chore.
dublinben 13y ago
A smart dishwasher could be programmed to run at the point in the day when your solar hot water heater reaches a certain temperature, or when electricity prices reach a certain level.
steveklabnik 13y ago
"Hey Steve, normally, it's not your turn to do the dishes, but I see that John is out of town this week. Better get on that!"
- krapp 13y ago
  "hey Steve, we see you've eaten Hamburger Helper and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese three times this week. Would you like to learn more about dating services in your area?"
  - steveklabnik 13y ago
    Oh yeah, it could go really terribly too.
kens 13y ago
There are a bunch of specific devices that I would really like to connect to the internet: Irrigation system: I shouldn't need to punch buttons on a controller box outside in the rain. Anything with a clock, e.g. microwave, thermostat: It should get the right time itself. Pool heater: I should be able to control it from the house and check the temperature. Barbecue: It should let me know if it was left on (like happened yesterday). Freezer: It should let me know if the door is ajar, before everything thaws. Alarm system: monitoring and control. Stereo: should be able to control from my phone. Washing machine: notification if I left wet clothes in it, or if it goes off balance and stops. These are mostly available now, but not in an easy-to-use way. Home automation seems to be like the home computer industry in the 1970s: you have to really want to do it, you need to be a bit of a hacker, it costs a fair bit, and what you end up with is pretty primitive. I think there's a huge market for someone to solve home automation. What I want is when I buy an irrigation controller from Home Depot (for example), it "just works" as part of a home system. Edit: A couple people asked why connect to the internet? I should be able to do these things remotely, e.g. from the office or my phone. a_c_s mentions that the time tinkering could outweigh the benefit. That's kind of what I'm getting at with my 1970s home computer analogy - you could do e.g. word processing back then, but it wasn't worth the difficulty for most people. Now non-technical people can buy a computer at Best Buy and easily do word processing. Likewise, home automation needs to become something that is built in to products and "just works" by default, rather than something for hackers.
- arethuza 13y ago
  "It should let me know if it was left on" That is my #1 use case for me - I would love to have some view of our home to tell me that I haven't left anything on when we go away for a few days.
  - aestra 13y ago
    I once left the burner on for a few hours, it was so scary when I realized it.
    - Glyptodon 13y ago
Pxtl 13y ago
Dish-washer is actually one of the devices I'd most like to be internet connected. Unlike a washing machine, the dishwasher is a cleaning implement that's I always keep loaded and ready to go. Detergent in the dispenser, full of stuff to wash. So being able to activate it remotely is handy. Also, getting a message to my phone when it completes would be handy. Same with washers/dryers - notification that the cycle is over and user intervention is required would be handy. Remote status information on my oven and smoke-detectors and furnace and water-heater and water-detectors, while expensive, would also be fantastic peace-of-mind for the worrywarts among us - at any moment you know if your house is flooded or burning or whatever.
mcguire 13y ago
"...under what circumstances would it be beneficial for my dishwasher to be "smart" at all..." An alternative that I haven't seen mentioned, but is supported, for some appliances: Your electrical or water supply utility could tell your dishwasher to delay its cycle in order for the utility overall to better balance its load.

by sdrinf 13y ago

maxerickson 13y ago

Remote temperature monitoring (and control). Current devices at least feel expensive, and they are generally some combination of arcane and crappy. I guess Nest is figuring this space out. At a low enough price point, being able to turn off lights and stuff like that is great, especially if there isn't much setting up involved. Lots of other things benefit from some sort of connectivity, being able to do data collection and monitoring over a network enables a much more passive approach (which I expect means more people will take advantage of the opportunity...).

Symmetry 13y ago

A whole lot of stuff related to this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_grid http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_grid

antimagic 13y ago

Remote diagnostics. The technician should already more or less know what is wrong with your machine before leaving the depot, which means s/he will already have the right parts / tools to get it fixed.

pcunite 13y ago

Send you a text when it is done or out of rinse aid. The text would actually go to your sibling so they can do their new chore.

dublinben 13y ago

A smart dishwasher could be programmed to run at the point in the day when your solar hot water heater reaches a certain temperature, or when electricity prices reach a certain level.

steveklabnik 13y ago

"Hey Steve, normally, it's not your turn to do the dishes, but I see that John is out of town this week. Better get on that!"

krapp 13y ago
"hey Steve, we see you've eaten Hamburger Helper and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese three times this week. Would you like to learn more about dating services in your area?"
- steveklabnik 13y ago
  Oh yeah, it could go really terribly too.

kens 13y ago

There are a bunch of specific devices that I would really like to connect to the internet: Irrigation system: I shouldn't need to punch buttons on a controller box outside in the rain. Anything with a clock, e.g. microwave, thermostat: It should get the right time itself. Pool heater: I should be able to control it from the house and check the temperature. Barbecue: It should let me know if it was left on (like happened yesterday). Freezer: It should let me know if the door is ajar, before everything thaws. Alarm system: monitoring and control. Stereo: should be able to control from my phone. Washing machine: notification if I left wet clothes in it, or if it goes off balance and stops. These are mostly available now, but not in an easy-to-use way. Home automation seems to be like the home computer industry in the 1970s: you have to really want to do it, you need to be a bit of a hacker, it costs a fair bit, and what you end up with is pretty primitive. I think there's a huge market for someone to solve home automation. What I want is when I buy an irrigation controller from Home Depot (for example), it "just works" as part of a home system. Edit: A couple people asked why connect to the internet? I should be able to do these things remotely, e.g. from the office or my phone. a_c_s mentions that the time tinkering could outweigh the benefit. That's kind of what I'm getting at with my 1970s home computer analogy - you could do e.g. word processing back then, but it wasn't worth the difficulty for most people. Now non-technical people can buy a computer at Best Buy and easily do word processing. Likewise, home automation needs to become something that is built in to products and "just works" by default, rather than something for hackers.

arethuza 13y ago
"It should let me know if it was left on" That is my #1 use case for me - I would love to have some view of our home to tell me that I haven't left anything on when we go away for a few days.
- aestra 13y ago
  I once left the burner on for a few hours, it was so scary when I realized it.
  - Glyptodon 13y ago

Pxtl 13y ago

Dish-washer is actually one of the devices I'd most like to be internet connected. Unlike a washing machine, the dishwasher is a cleaning implement that's I always keep loaded and ready to go. Detergent in the dispenser, full of stuff to wash. So being able to activate it remotely is handy. Also, getting a message to my phone when it completes would be handy. Same with washers/dryers - notification that the cycle is over and user intervention is required would be handy. Remote status information on my oven and smoke-detectors and furnace and water-heater and water-detectors, while expensive, would also be fantastic peace-of-mind for the worrywarts among us - at any moment you know if your house is flooded or burning or whatever.

mcguire 13y ago

"...under what circumstances would it be beneficial for my dishwasher to be "smart" at all..." An alternative that I haven't seen mentioned, but is supported, for some appliances: Your electrical or water supply utility could tell your dishwasher to delay its cycle in order for the utility overall to better balance its load.