Verv, one of the Smart Summit London Silver sponsors will be exhibiting and speaking at the summit taking place on the 19th and 20th of September. Peter is the founder and CEO of Verv; a London-based AI start-up (and division of Green Running) developing a home energy assistant set to revolutionise the energy market and how we manage our bills and home. To date, Verv has raised over £2m in funding to develop the product which is the most advanced on the market thanks to its cutting-edge machine-learning technology. Centrica, owners of British Gas, the UK’s largest energy company, is one of the key investors.
A serial entrepreneur with an engineering background and a degree in computers and electronics, Peter also founded Austin Consultants, the UK’s highest certified LabVIEW Consultancy specialising in automated measurement, analysis and control systems for the likes of Rolls-Royce, Mercedes Benz F1, Caterpillar and the Julich Fusion Reactor.
Peter took some time to answer our speaker Q&A:
Which do you consider to be the most popular Smart Home services/solutions currently?
Solutions such as smart thermostats and smart lighting that help to bring down bills and improve energy efficiency have kicked off the smart home trend, leading the way for voice activated assistants that complement these solutions.
What could be done to increase mass market take-up of Smart Home solutions?
Whilst there is some really cool and innovative technology being developed for the smart home, products that make a real difference in the way people live and manage their homes in the long-term are few and far between.
Integrated technology that addresses real consumer pain-points, with support from personalised machine learning tailored to individual behaviour, is what smart home brands need to be focusing on in order to drive mass adoption.
How can smart home services save consumers money?
Consumers are often perplexed by utility bills which do not give them a clear picture or any comprehensive insight into their usage. That’s exactly why we’ve developed a home energy assistant that presents electricity usage in a way that’s easy to understand and enables optimised consumption.
By democratising data and presenting it to consumers in the form of actionable insights, there is a real opportunity for money-saving. In addition, by giving consumers the option to share their data, there are opportunities to bring down insurance policy costs, for example, thanks to the information that can be provided to insurance companies.
How best to use customer data, to offer a personalised solution?
AI and machine learning products are able to deliver a particularly personalised solution using information about behavioural trends, with the ability to constantly improve the algorithm based on user choices and feedback.
We use behavioural patterns to give consumers tailored advice on how they can bring down their energy consumption, as well as things like tariff information to deliver the most accurate real-time electricity costs.
How is voice evolving the smart home experience?
Voice activation adds a new level of ease to the smart home, reducing time and effort barriers even further. It’s important for other smart home solutions to integrate with these products in order to optimise usage.
Focussing on the pain points – how to determine exactly what will make a difference to the
customer’s life?
Money-saving and time-saving are key drivers in the uptake of smart home products.
What lies ahead for the Smart Home industry?
We are working on a peer-to-peer energy trading solution using blockchain that will bring down electricity prices and improve access to low carbon energy. With the GreenTech industry booming, I expect to see a wider movement towards green homes, brought about by innovative smart home tech which uses advanced AI.
In addition, I think voice activated products will continue to advance, accompanied by gesture controlled solutions that are currently also on the horizon. I would also expect to see less individual products, and more integrated solutions that provide one hub as a source of all information and control over the home.
About Smart Summit London
Smart Summit is a 2 day conference and exhibition covering the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem and its impact on the digital society.
Now in its 3rd year, the event features Europe's leading Smart Home Summit and a further 5 tracks all designed to compliment each other.
With over 180 visionary speakers, gain a unique insight from industry heavyweights and hear case study examples from major contributors.
Make sure you are present in London on the 19th and 20th September for THE Smart IoT event of 2017.
