HP once expressed their desire to see webOS make its way to household appliances, but given that they recently announced they would be discontinuing their webOS tablets and smartphones, we’re not sure if that particular vision of theirs is still on track. However it looks like Siemens has something similar in mind with their iPad-controlled homeConnect appliances.
Given that we more or less spend the majority of our waking moments on our mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets, why should we put it down and attend to household stuff, right? After all wouldn’t it be cool if we could control our washing machine, our cooking and dish washers from afar? This is pretty much what Siemens had in mind with their iPad-controlled homeConnect appliances, which would allow the user to more or less control what goes on, check on stats (i.e. energy consumption) and also be able to shut appliances down remotely.
They even extend this to cooking by allowing users to download recipes which can then be imported to the appliances and include cooking time and temperatures (we’re assuming this is for ovens and microwaves, not stovetop cooking). Unfortunately this remains more or less a concept, although Siemens seems to be confident that in a few years it should become a reality. If you’re at IFA perhaps you may want to stop by Siemens’ booth and try your hand at controlling a washing machine remotely.