Smart Homes to Smart Cities: The IoT Transformation

In an exclusive interaction with Adlin Pertishya Jebaraj, correspondent of Homes India Magazine, Ross Sabolick, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Industrial & Commercial IoT, discusses how AI and IoT are reshaping the future of intelligent homes, urban sustainability, and industrial innovation. He highlights the potential of large language models with respect to bolstering user experience, the role of AI-enabled security and privacy, and IoT’s potential disruption of supply chains and energy management.  

Ross has over 20 years of experience leading smart metering, automation, and connected technologies. He has led global expansion around the world by innovating in wireless connectivity, sensors, and MCU solutions. 

How do you see the current role of artificial intelligence and machine learning evolving in smart homes and the user experience as well? 

AI in smart homes is truly an exciting time. Going back five years, when Alexa first came out, it felt almost magical. But today, using Alexa can sometimes feel clunky. If you don’t use the exact name you assigned to a light or device, it doesn’t respond properly. With large language models (LLMs), however, things are getting far more intuitive. Having all that contextual understanding allows users to communicate naturally even without exact phrasing, and the system will still figure it out. 

To realize the vision of what a smart home can be, LLMs have a major role to play. While many ecosystems are still evolving, the integration of AI will be critical in taking the next big step, making smart homes more intuitive, interactive, and accessible to everyday users. 

What are the major challenges in securing smart home devices, and how can they be overcome? 

In smart home security, there are two key components, sensors and cameras. For door and window sensors, deployment challenges revolve around power and cost. Since these devices are battery-operated and installed in locations without direct power sources, they must be energy-efficient and long-lasting. If users have to change ten sensor batteries every few months, that becomes a major inconvenience. So, optimizing for power efficiency and affordability is crucial. 

When it comes to security cameras, AI again plays an important role. False motion alerts triggered by wind or moving trees often frustrate users. Integrating AI to interpret the visual data allows the system to identify if there’s actually a person in the frame before sending an alert. This makes smart home security more reliable and user-friendly by reducing false positives and improving accuracy. 

Also Read: How Wi-Fi Is Transforming Smart Home Connectivity in India

How can IoT be leveraged to improve urban sustainability and reduce management costs? 

When we look at metering, the statistics are eye-opening: nearly 30% of all water that flows through pipes never reaches its destination due to leaks or theft. Saving that much water has enormous implications for sustainability. 

There’s also the emerging concept of a “virtual power plant.” Studies have shown that if households reduce air conditioning usage during peak load times, multiple new power plants could be avoided altogether. Through IoT, it becomes possible to monitor and manage such resources intelligently. 

While we play a small part in this ecosystem, our technology provides connectivity that enables these systems to function. Devices that detect leaks in pipes or help manage energy use, such as temporarily switching off air conditioning, have a tremendous impact on resource efficiency and environmental preservation. 

What are the ethical implications of using data collected from smart city sensors, and how can privacy be protected? 

This is an area where AI can make a real difference. For instance, cameras can offer valuable sensing capabilities. Think of a conference room equipped with a motion sensor, where the lights turn off when people sit still for too long. A camera could do this more effectively by detecting if people are still present. However, this raises valid privacy concerns about live data streams being sent to the cloud. 

The solution lies in local data processing. On some of our devices, live images are processed within the camera itself. Only minimal data, such as a simple “room occupied or not” signal is transmitted externally. This ensures privacy by keeping sensitive information out of the cloud while still enabling intelligent automation through AI.

Also Read: Advanced Housing Models Shaping India's Residential Hubs 

What are the primary benefits of implementing IoT in manufacturing and other industrial sectors? 

A major area of impact is the supply chain. Tracking materials from their point of origin through the entire production and delivery process brings immense value. Cold chain monitoring is a great example. When transporting temperature-sensitive goods like pharmaceuticals or seafood, IoT ensures that they are maintained at the proper conditions throughout the journey. 

Similarly, in warehouses and manufacturing lines, knowing where items are located, how they’ve been handled, and whether they’ve been compromised helps streamline operations and reduce losses. This level of visibility enhances both efficiency and accountability across the supply chain. 

How can IoT be used to optimize supply chain management? 

Cold chain monitoring is one of the best illustrations of IoT’s value in supply chain optimization. For example, if a refrigerated truck experiences a temperature spike, IoT sensors can alert the operator immediately, preventing spoilage before products reach the store. 

Additionally, large-scale shippers like Amazon face significant challenges with lost or stolen packages. Traditional barcodes have limitations since they rely on manual tracking. By integrating wireless connectivity, real-time visibility across the supply chain becomes possible by helping identify where and when products go missing. Ultimately, this improves efficiency, reduces loss, and provides greater control over logistics. 

Also Read: Premium Decor Frameworks Blending Tradition & Modernity

What’s your future vision of IoT technology for the next five to ten years? 

It has never been easier to build connected products, develop IoT devices, and send data to the cloud for monitoring and insights. Our mission is to democratize that process — enabling innovators to bring their ideas to life with ease, without worrying about complex connectivity challenges. 

Looking ahead, we’ll see people using connected devices and data in ways that are beyond imagination today. A new generation of smart products and use cases will emerge, transforming how we live, work, and interacting with technology. Being part of that evolution and empowering our customers to build these innovations is truly exciting.