Kitchen & Bath Business - September 2020 - 22

TRENDS

LEFT SAMSUNG has upgraded

the Family Hub's ViewInside
cameras with AI image
recognition technology, which
automatically scans the
products inside the fridge,
identiﬁes them and sends
updates on items that have
been added or depleted. The
Meal Planner can now help
users plan meals by adjusting
recipes based on the number
of guests expected and build
a smart shopping list that
consolidates ingredients from
several recipes. MSRP starts
at 2,299. www.samsung.com/
us/home-appliances

RIGHT The Kitchen Hub from

ALL ABOUT THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE

The problem with smart home technology is that
if individual appliances, fixtures, lighting and temperature systems are all accessed with different
apps and are time-consuming to use, the technology wastes time instead of saving it. Alternatively,
smart home technology needs to work as an allinclusive system accessible from one platform for
the most seamless, easy-to-use experience.
"It is important to bring all these devices
into a central collection point," said Bill Strang,
president of corporate strategy and eCommerce, TOTO. "All of these devices are like the
trombones,trumpets and bassoons in the band,
but no one is playing together. We need an organized orchestration for optimal results."
Whole-home smart systems are growing in
popularity, and many systems partner with smart
devices to include them under their umbrella of
control. That way, a homeowner can manipulate
their entire home from one platform - a practice
that's coming into wider use. The next step then
for the connected smart home is to use AI to better
learn the homeowners and provide a more personalized experience without any additional user effort.
"Information such as the weather could enable
the contextually aware home to adjust heating,
cooling, lighting shading and more, improving
the user experience and reducing the need for preprogrammed scenes, mobile control or even voice
control," said Mitchell Klein, executive director,
Z-Wave Alliance."AI will truly redefine the smart
home user experience."
In theory, AI in the future could detect who
entered the home and automatically change
the temperature and lighting based on that individual's preferences. It could detect when an
oven is turned on and turn up the illumination in
the kitchen for optimal lighting for cooking, or it
could automatically start the coffee maker as soon

22
20-22_KBB_0920_Trends.indd 22

GE APPLIANCES is an overthe-range interactive smart
kitchen and ventilation system.
The Kitchen Hub's smart
features include access to
thousands of embedded recipes in the Flavorly app, guided
cooking, video chatting capabilities, built-in voice-control
and access to entertainment
apps like Netﬂix, Spotify, Hulu
and more. MSRP ranges from
$1,199 to $1,399.
www.geappliances.com

as the shower is turned on. These streamlined processes will not only make
day-to-day life easier but also healthier.
"As homeowners continue their journey on the smart home path, they are
migrating from do-it-yourself devices to a custom, integrated smart home
experience," said Stephenson. "Rather than an addition to a home, smart
technology is becoming a foundation for it."

LEFT The SÉURA SMART
Mirror is a fully customizable,
interactive display with a
touch- and voice-to-textcontrolled user interface.
The mirror allows consumers
to create their own custom
SMART Mirror dashboards
featuring their favorite apps
and widgets. Users can access smart home automation
apps to monitor and adjust
lighting, temperature and security. MSRP starts at $6,999
for a 30-in.-wide by 42-in.-high
mirror and 27-in. display. www.
seura.com/products/smart
LEFT BOTTOM AMBA's Radiant

Small is a heated towel rack
ideal for tight bathrooms. Both
the vertical and horizontal bars
heat with an internal cable, and
the product now comes with
additional smart features, such
as hard-wired and plug-in
digital temperature regulators
and timers. MSRP is $199.50.
ambaproducts.com

/ SEPTEMBER 2020 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of NKBA (NKBA.org) and KBIS (KBIS.com)

8/17/20 5:13 PM

https://www.samsung.com/us/home-appliances/ https://www.samsung.com/us/home-appliances/ http://www.geappliances.com http://www.seura.com/products/smart http://www.ambaproducts.com http://www.KBBONLINE.COM http://www.NKBA.org http://www.KBIS.com

Kitchen & Bath Business - September 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Kitchen & Bath Business - September 2020