The Internet of Things now includes everything and the kitchen sink
Everything's voice-activated these days -- even the kitchen sink.
The Delta Faucet Company announced Friday it's developing faucets that respond to voice commands. Along with turning off and on, they'll be able to measure amounts of water for cooking, and warm water, too.
It's all possible thanks to Wi-Fi and Amazon Alexa.
Mike Sale, Delta Faucet's senior research and design product development manager, said in a call this week that the sink designers took a page from early voice-enabled lights and HVAC systems that could turn on with a simple command.
"If you don’t do it with voice, you’ve got a mess of dials," Sale said. Voice technology also keeps the design sleek with the engine and valve under the sink and the internet-connected components also tucked away.
"When your faucet responds -- that's not something anyone has really seen," Sale said.
The technology, which is still undergoing testing and development, is expected to come to market later this year, and is currently installed in trial homes.
We've already seen voice-controlled TV remote controls, cars, light switches, and thermostats. And the smart home is only going to grow in 2018, as Mashable Tech Editor Pete Pachal noted in his CES preview.
Topics Artificial Intelligence Kitchen
Sasha is a news writer at Mashable's San Francisco office. She's an SF native who went to UC Davis and later received her master's from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She's been reporting out of her hometown over the years at Bay City News (news wire), SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle website), and even made it out of California to write for the Chicago Tribune. She's been described as a bookworm and a gym rat.
