A technology that keeps on introducing innovations increasingly tailored to our needs.
by
Maria Pia Rossignaud
06 October 2020
4 min read
by
Maria Pia Rossignaud
06 October 2020
4 min read
Domotics fascinates me. I’ve been dreaming of houses powered by the click of a button since I first visited Silicon Valley in 1999 and stepped through the door of a smart room at Intel. Today the first real services are appearing on the market and it’s not just lights that turn on by themselves or remote-controlled ovens, heating or air conditioning.
A hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, for example, has already adopted many of the technologies now available, giving its guests a unique experience. Using a smartphone application, guests can adjust their room temperature, the light settings in their room and bathroom, their window curtains and even their shower temperature with precision. Potentially all the hotels in a chain will be able to share information on every guest, so they can have their preferred settings ready in their room before they arrive, even in different countries.
The giant Intel has already lent its support to building the hotels of the future. The Internet of Things (IoT) is the technology in the field here. It transforms the environment we live in by letting things communicate with each other. Times have changed since Verne took us around the world in eighty days. Now you can cover the globe in two days and celebrate New Year’s Eve again and again, communicating through any object to take advantage of the time zone difference. We’re witnessing the extinction of the phone as a separate entity. We’ve already had over a billion objects communicating with each other since 2015. The 9 billion phones not linked up are now in a minority and the wires for them are slowly vanishing.
We are at the dawning of a new era and Eni gas e luce is ready for it with its services. Thanks to its agreement with Amazon, in fact, users can now hand some tedious household chores over to Alexa. Alexa transforms into Jeeves, totting up water, light and gas consumption, keeping them under control, making sure they’re paid for at the end of the month –in other words, making users’ lives easier. The Eni gas e luce website explains all about how we’ll achieve the house of the future very soon.
The home automation market is really growing in Europe. It was estimated at $1 billion in 2016 and will reach $5.9 billion by 2022. The United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the Scandinavia together account for 80% of the European market, while Eastern Europe accounts for 14% of the share. The future belongs to companies who embrace the digital transformation and the new business models that spring from it –like Eni, an all-Italian example of a company that invests in the future. The advantages offered by so-called smart homes seem to have won over the more reluctant. Comfort and saving have won over people’s fear of losing their privacy.
When I used to think about running my own smart home, I imagined myself in 2030, in a car –self-driving– in front of a garage that opened automatically and communicated with the rest of the building I was about to step into. And all of it possible because the price of networked locks was around the same as for normal locks, so hardly anyone used the normal ones anymore. Technological evolution was just a matter of costs. Security had come to mean a lot more than protection against different crimes. Sensors scattered around my smart home recommended maintenance work and communicated all the time with household appliances and cameras.
Meanwhile, snapping back from the world of dreams, we now have an increasingly pervasive –imperceptibly so– communication infrastructure. We must absolutely address these concepts because 5G will be what makes the difference. This new technology affects everyone, not just telecommunications operators. It’s drawn public and private bodies, shops, councils, businesses and individuals into its net. Wikipedia will tell you that the fancy word for home automation, domotics, is a combination of domus, meaning “house” in Latin, and “robotics”.
The area is extremely interdisciplinary because it has to involve lots of technologies and professions, including construction, energy and management engineering, architecture, automation, electronics, electrical engineering, telecommunications, information technology and design, and not least users who know they have useful tools at hand that will make them more informed and their lives better.
THIS WEBSITE (AND THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN) DOES NOT CONTAIN OR CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF SECURITIES FOR SALE, OR SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO PURCHASE SECURITIES OR IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES (INCLUDING ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA) OR FOR THE ACCOUNT OR BENEFIT OF ANY U.S. PERSON AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE SECURITIES ACT (A "U.S. PERSON"), AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR SOUTH AFRICA OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE SUCH AN OFFER OR SOLICITATION WOULD REQUIRE THE APPROVAL OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES OR OTHERWISE BE UNLAWFUL (THE "OTHER COUNTRIES"). THE SECURITIES REFERRED TO HEREIN HAVE NOT BEEN AND WILL NOT BE REGISTERED UNDER THE U.S. SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED (THE "SECURITIES ACT"), OR PURSUANT TO THE CORRESPONDING REGULATIONS IN FORCE IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN, SOUTH AFRICA OR THE “OTHER COUNTRIES” AND MAY NOT BE OFFERED OR SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES OR TO A U.S. PERSON UNLESS THE SECURITIES ARE REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT, OR AN EXEMPTION FROM THE REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE SECURITIES ACT IS AVAILABLE. NO PUBLIC OFFERING OF SUCH SECURITIES IS INTENDED TO BE MADE IN THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, JAPAN OR IN THE “OTHER COUNTRIES.”
In any Member State of the European Economic Area ("EEA"), the information contained in this website is only directed at and may only be communicated to persons who are "qualified investors" ("Qualified Investors") within the meaning of Article 2(e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the "Prospectus Regulation").
The information to which this website gives access is directed only at persons (i) who are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations etc.") of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order") or (ii) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Order or (iii) to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is only available to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons, or in the EEA, with Qualified Investors. Any person who is not a relevant person, a Qualified Investor or otherwise permitted under applicable law or regulation to access the information, should not act or rely on the information contained herein.
Confirmation of Understanding and Acceptance of Disclaimer
These materials are for informational purposes only and are not directed to, nor are they intended for, access by persons located or resident in the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa or any of the Other Countries. I certify that:
I am not resident of, or located in, the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan or South Africa or any of the Other Countries or I am not a U.S. Person; or
If I am a resident of, or located in, the EEA, I am a Qualified Investor within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation; or
If I am a resident of, or located in, the United Kingdom, I am a Qualified Investor and a relevant person.
I have read and understood the disclaimer set out above. I understand that it may affect my rights. I agree to be bound by its terms and I am permitted under applicable law and regulations to proceed to the following parts of this website.
WARNING: the above certification constitutes a "self-certification" pursuant to Decree of the President of the Italian Republic No. 445 of 28 December 2000. False certifications are punishable by law.
You must read the following information before continuing.
The information contained in this segment of the website is not intended for, and must not be accessed or distributed or disseminated to persons resident or physically present in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan or any other jurisdiction in which it is unlawful to do so. The information also is not intended for, and must not be accessed or distributed or disseminated to persons resident or physically present in Italy who are not “qualified investors” (investitori qualificati), as defined in Article 2, letter e) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the “Prospectus Regulation”) pursuant to Article 1, fourth paragraph, letter a) of the Prospectus Regulation as implemented in Italy by Article 35, paragraph 1, letter d) of CONSOB regulation No. 20307 of February 15, 2018.
By clicking the button below labeled “I agree”, you are certifying that (A) if you are in the European Economic Area, you are a “Qualified Investor”; (B) you are not accessing this portion of the website from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada or Japan; (C) if you are a resident or physically present in Italy, you are a qualified investor as defined under the Prospectus Regulation as implemented in Italy by Article 35, paragraph 1, letter d) of CONSOB regulation No. 20307 of February 15, 2018; and (D) you are not located in a jurisdiction where it is unlawful to access this portion of the website.
You acknowledge that the information and statements contained in the document you are accessing on this website speak only as of the date of such document (or such other date(s) specified therein), and such information and statements may become inaccurate, stale and/or out-of-date thereafter and should not be relied upon for any investment decision.
You acknowledge that the materials on this website that you are accessing are confidential and intended only for you and you agree you will not forward, reproduce, copy, download or publish any of such materials (electronically or otherwise) to any other person if this is not in accordance with the law.
You acknowledge that the access to information and documents contained on this portion of the website may be illegal in certain jurisdictions, and only certain categories of persons may be authorized to access this portion of the website. If you are not authorized to access the information and document contained on this portion of the website or you are not sure that you are permitted to view these materials, you should leave this portion of the website.
You acknowledge that no registration or approval has been obtained and Eni Gas e Luce S.p.A. società benefit and its affiliates assume no responsibility if there is a violation of applicable law and regulation by any person.
By clicking the button below labeled “I agree”, you are confirming that you have read and understood the disclaimer above.
If you cannot so confirm, you must exit this portion of the website
