Re:My Building Has Replaced Our Keys with an App. Is That Le...
by TheOtherHobbes on Tuesday December 06, 2022 @05:06AM
(#33877671)
There was an ad doing the rounds recently in Europe showing a geek setting up voice-activated home automation. And then getting a tooth removed under heavy anaesthetic.
Turns out "Mmmmffmghfff!" is not a valid Alexa command.
Also a bad idea to have a voice activated door during torrential rain. (Which is a silly example. But even so.)
It's not even a UI problem. No one is going to be happy if the power goes off and they can't get in or out.
Or the lock fails open and everyone can get in and out.
I call this the grandma test. Can grandma come over to my place and still operate everything she needs without a CompSci degree.
It is definitely possible to have a very smart home but still have physical fallbacks that cater for most visitors.