It's about to be in even more places as the industry in charge of developing it pushes for dominance on their own platforms and standards. While for them it means new technologies -- and more importantly products -- that can be packaged up and sold, for us it means consistency and assuredness in a technology still somewhat shrouded in mystery and fragmented across platforms as companies compete for supremacy. In an attempt to bring some clarity into the smart home, key industry leaders like Apple, Amazon and Google (who make the Siri, Alexa, and Assistant digital voice AI platforms that power many smart homes) joined forces through the Project Connected Home Over IP protocol. The idea is to ensure that all your smart home devices work with one another. The three big tech companies mainly utilise their AI technology through smart speakers, and other companies across appliances, automotive and consumer electronics make their products compatible.

Personalised and proactive interactions are at the centre of what LG is building with its AI powered LG ThinQ ecosystem, under the strategy of "Evolve, Connect and Open", realised on the IFA showfloor in the always on, ambient intelligence of the LG ThinQ Home. Think a smart home full of connected products that know what you need before you do, with the tech to act on it, thanks to algorithms that are capable of analysing individual habits. The challenge: to transform these predictions into useful features that make for comfortable living. "LG ThinQ draws on data analytics and machine learning algorithms from LG's proprietary AI chip and LG Neural Engine to better understand the user's situation, patterns and preferences," said Dr IP Park, president and chief technology officer for LG Electronics. "Learning from the user's behavior, LG ThinQ products will ultimately evolve to anticipate the user's needs and deliver heightened performance."