How Technology has impacted their lives over 100 years

I have the privilege, and yes I call it a privilege, to have regular chats with a 101-year-old man. Simply put, his scope and breadth of experience is unmatched. I also have the immense pleasure of knowing a 1-year-old girl who looks at the world with awe and wonder in a way that only children can.

The man is my wife’s Grandfather and even after a century of life, he remains mentally sharp, and without question, has forgotten more in his life than many of us will ever know. Over the course of his lifetime, he has seen the invention of so many things that we all take for granted in our daily lives: the zipper, the pop-up toaster, the jet engine, and the artificial heart. In talking with him, he will regale you with stories about when electricity came to his farm. Even with such simple technology, his mother was afraid that if they left the house with a bulb on, the house would burn down

Working in a tech startup, I have the fortunate ability to see an incredible amount of cutting-edge technologies long before they become mainstream. At Reemo, we are tasked with the mission to design the next-generation human interface for the Connected Home; which results in creating human-centric design. Doing the unheard of, rolling up our sleeves, and actually talking with people and immersing them into our design process. Our highest priority is to understand how they interact with their home today and asking how we can fulfill their Smart Home needs for the future.

While fairly typical, my work life tends to bleed into my personal life. Sitting down with Grandpa Appleton recently I asked him, “What is the most important innovation that changed lives over the last 100 years?” He sat back in his chair and thought long and hard, so long I thought that he might be taking a nap. Then he came forward and said, “There have been many amazing things that I have seen over my lifetime, but I can think of two that have been more earth shattering than the rest: the telephone and the Internet.” He believed that while the telephone and Internet were vastly different, their impact on connecting the world was tantamount. When they first installed a phone in his farmhouse, it was the first time in his life that you could reach out and instantly communicate with people from around the globe. Instantly, the world became an infinitely more connected place.

The Internet acted in the same way. It provided a portal into an entirely connected information platform where he now is able to read the news or watch videos instantly from across the world. When asked if others in his retirement community are online as well, he responded with a despondent, “no.” The majority of elders he knows are missing out. Not surprisingly, in Grandpa Appleton’s estimation, the seniors who are connected to the Internet seem much happier than the others given the freedom to engage with the outside world.

Fast forward 100 years from the time that Grandpa Appleton was born and we arrive at the birth of my third child, Lilia. She was born in an incredible age of wonder where technological advancements are developing so rapidly that we can barely keep up. Of course, Lilia will never know the world her great grandpa knew, but she will learn about that time in history (albeit from an e-reader of sorts). In her world, if there is anything she wants to know, she can learn about it instantly; connectivity has become second nature.

The reality of our increasing digitization is that my 13-month-old toddler is not only capable, but also fluent in communicating with Siri. She points at the remote control and knows that is how to turn on Sesame Street. And now, with the power of gesture control, she will be able to control her environment with the wave of her arm. Turning on lights, locking doors and adjusting her thermostat will be possible with simply a gesture and it won’t stop there. Eventually home connectivity will be intelligent enough to not just accommodate her needs, but anticipate them.

Despite working for a tech startup, I am continually amazed by the progress that has been made in the tech world. My company, Reemo, is a unique up-and-coming startup, self-charged with building the future. We take into account the ways people of all ages want to interact with their home in the future. What we do is especially important now that this future has arrived. Smart plugs, switches and thermostats are already implemented into plenty of homes; but how we interact with them isn’t ideal. Typically they are controlled by smartphones and the fact is, that scope is limited, which is why new developments in technology are finding ways to streamline our interactions with the Internet of Things.. This technology isn’t just for novel use, imagine a world where we can enable a senior to remain independent longer by assisting them with daily tasks from across the room. Now imagine a world where not only is an elder allowed to retain a sense of independence, but also a world where his or her loved ones are cued into their activity.

I can only dream of what my daughter’s world will look like in the next century. My wish for her is to have the same experience that her great grandfather has had; the ability to look back through a long, historical lens and reflect on how the world has changed in countless ways. With her able to realize that these advancements that have been made have had an immeasurable impact on people’s lives. If I am lucky the ones that we are building today will have some small part in that as well.