Crabtree Publishing Company HIGH-TECH EVERYDAY SCIENCE KELLY SPENCE TECH LIVING
CONTENTS Tech at Home A Smart Abode Sweet Dreams Smart Kitchen High-tech Garage Pet Tech Smart Home Shopping Smart Wear Cutting-edge Communication Electronic Entertainment Brainwaves Future Fantastic Tech Timeline Glossary Learning More Index and About the Author 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 31 32
TECH AT HOME Technology in the 21st century touches every part of our lives It reaches everywhere including the four walls we call home The Internet of Things IoT is a phrase used to describe the billions of smart devices that send and receive information through the Internet It is estimated that by the year 2020 about 200 billion smart devices will be connected to the Internet about 26 for each person on the planet Many of these devices will be in our homes From opening doors to boiling a kettle from bed smartphone technology is making our lives easier in surprising ways As new technologies are developed the wireless networks that connect smart devices become more powerful and more reliable Mobile networks are referred to by generation which is represented by the letter G The first generation or G used analog technology We now use 4G digital technology which is able to process more information than 3G By around 2022 an even more powerful 5G will begin to replace 4G Smart technology has already transformed the way that we communicate work and shop Soon it will transform our homes too There are different ways to access cellular networks While some devices require a plug to work many more operate using wireless technology Two common systems used to wirelessly transmit data are Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Wi-Fi is short for wireless fidelity Places where Wi-Fi is available are called hotspots Bluetooth is used to connect devices over short distances It does not need access to the Internet For example music in our homes can be sent from a smartphone to a wireless speaker via Bluetooth 4 WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY MAKING CONNECTIONS
