By Colleen Dillaway
The 1960s cartoon series “The Jetsons,” about a nuclear family living in the year 2062, left an entire generation wide-eyed about what the smart technology of the future could look like and how it could make their lives easier.
Today, many of “The Jetsons” tech fantasies are a reality — think robot vacuums, video phone calls and controlling your TV or house lights with your voice. Yet innovation continues: CES 2023, which took place in Las Vegas in January and was billed as the most influential tech event in the world, featured a camouflage car that changes color when synced to music and an artificial intelligence (AI) oven that can livestream baking.
While we may not be ready for a chameleon car, a food influencer’s dream appliance or a beloved robot butler like Rosie who put George Jetson’s shoes on for him each morning, we now have access to myriad tech inventions, many of which were designed to save time and optimize home automation and safety.
Home Automation
The global smart home automation market is poised to grow by nearly $100 billion over the next decade. New smart technologies and software integrations, designed to automate the home and conserve energy, seem to advance by the minute.
Beyond smart TVs and soundbars — or what experts call the “stars of the living room technology show” — smart speakers are a home automation must. A central command system of the home, smart speakers allow you to control any connected smart device with the sound of your voice to play music, turn lights on and off, and even ask research questions like who the 26th president of the United States was (Teddy Roosevelt).
Cox makes it easy to build your own connected home, and with our strong and secure Panoramic Wi-Fi at its core, you can control, monitor and customize every Cox entertainment and home device within your network. Your mobile device and Voice Remote keep everything connected, comfortable and convenient.
Home Security
Gone are the days of the wired doorbell. Cox Homelife and Panoramic WiFi have joined forces to bring you the latest in home security with a continuous recording Video Doorbell (VDB).
Peace of mind has never been so accessible. With the VDB, you can monitor who’s at the door when you’re home, check on deliveries when you’re not and keep an eye on pets (even robotic ones) at all times. The Panoramic WiFi app lets you control it all from anywhere in the galaxy.
The VDB also listens, so you can speak to visitors. Devices like Contour TV or the Contour Stream Player let you use voice commands to manage your devices. Just tell your Contour Voice Remote something like, “Show me the front door,” and you’ll see who’s at your front door…right on your TV.
Home Tech Gadgets
There is no shortage of futuristic tech tools to help you live your best life at home. In addition to the latest versions of smartphones, tablets, wireless headphones and other tech gadgets available nowadays (parents of teens will love the new shoe deodorizing locker), there are also several jaw-dropping gaming systems which have been in particularly high demand since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
To power those fancy, new virtual reality gaming systems, Cox’s Elite Gamer service uses intelligent routing to automatically find a faster path for your PC game data, improve gameplay and reduce disconnections, ping spikes and jitter that cause gamers grief.
If 2023 is the year you plan on embracing new technology in your home, you’ll need a reliable internet connection to power all those devices and activities.
At Cox, our network is built to handle peak usage. We’ve invested more than $15 billion in our network over the past decade to better serve our customers and bring next-generation gigabit internet speeds to homes and smart tech devices.
To showcase how smart technologies can enhance how we all live, work and interact with our world, Cox Smart Stories illustrates the ways Cox customers can use smart technology in their day-to-day lives to get things done faster and more efficiently—no extensive tech background required.
It’s exciting to be alive for this technological revolution. Don’t wait until 2062: Stop by a Cox Solutions Store near you for a live demo of our latest technology and to find more ways to connect to your favorite things.
And if you want to catch an episode of that classic futuristic cartoon, just say “The Jetsons” into your Cox Contour voice remote control, sit back and enjoy.
Colleen Dillaway is Market Vice President for Cox Communications in Orange County and Palos Verdes.