Prior to Parks Associates’ 23rd-annual CONNECTIONS: The Premier Connected Home Conference, Katie McMahon, Vice President and General Manager, SoundHound, Inc., shared her thoughts on the extension of the smart home to the connected car with the firm’s analyst team.

Katie participated on the Connected Cars: Extension for the Smart Home panel on Wednesday, May 22, at 10:15 AM. Panelists who joined her on this session included:

Brian Brackenbury, Director, Connected Products, Gentex Corporation
Jan-Philipp Gehrmann, Director, Head of Automotive Sales & Marketing Silicon Valley, NXP
Andy Hodge, CEO, Founder, Owl Cameras Inc.
Dr. Alan Messer, CTO, Mojio

Q: With the rollout of 5G technologies nearing, what impact will this technology have on connected consumers?

A: 5G technologies will have a significant impact across all industries, with unprecedented speed and abilities that will change the way we interact with connected devices. This technological revolution can accelerate innovation and help restructure in-depth ecosystems to work more efficiently in ways that previously haven’t been possible. For example, the unification of 5G and autonomous car data can help provide optimal routes at mass scale. 5G will also allow SoundHound Inc. and other voice technologies to provide even faster query response times, making the voice interaction process even more seamless and accessible. 

Q: As the smart home experience expands outside the home, how will the role of the car evolve as part of the smart home ecosystem?

A: As the adoption of smart home technology becomes ubiquitous, key players in the automotive industry are taking notice and incorporating hands-free, voice interfaces into their vehicles. This move towards a hands-free, voice-enabled future in cars ensures a better experience for both consumers and car makers that puts the safety of drivers top of mind.   

Q: What impact will emerging technologies like AI, machine learning, and blockchain have on the smart home?

A: Smart home technology is becoming more and more a part of people’s everyday lives. With the advancement of technologies such as AI and machine learning, the potential to help make people’s lives better will be prominent. These technologies will also move us closer to the vision of a unified smart home -- especially as voice interaction can be used across products and platforms. Houses of the future will be built from the ground up with high-speed connectivity in mind. One hope that I think we can all be excited about is for the potential applications that will come focused around in-home care of elderly, from fall monitoring and medical check-ins, to immersive experiences allowing greater human connection to family, opportunities to learn and maintain a sense of purpose. Companies are already starting to do this, with smart wearable biometric trackers to AI-powered fall detectors.