Smart innovator who built Kingdom’s smartest home

A 35-year-old Bahraini has set a new benchmark in the smart home market by building one that would hardly have any parallels not only in the Kingdom, but also in the neighbouring countries. Omar Al Mohammed, is among the new breed of youthful innovators, who is making the Kingdom proud. A visit to his fully voice controlled apartment in Juffair would unveil this young man’s outstanding innovative spirit. It took one year and BD45, 000 for Omar to build his smart home, which is indeed smartest by all parameters. The apartment has voice-activated curtains, which open and closes on voice commands, Wi-Fi screen refrigerator, which you can talk to; mirror your TV so you can continue watching your favourite shows while cooking.

One can have a look inside the fridge without opening the door. The screen can read your emails, recipes, and play radio channels, YouTube and even Pandora and Spotify. Place an order verbally; lights change brightness, television start playing, Netflix, YouTube or whatever you want. Omar’s kitchen is ultimate. It has a sensor-angled hood, WiFi oven and all of them can be controlled using a smartphone. All appliances at home wait for Omar’s orders, from washing machine to smart clock and air-conditioners.

 Speaking to Tribune, Omar said: “I don’t come from a privileged high-class family. Since childhood, my father used to bring latest technology home, where I was one of the most curious kids. “I would break toys just to see how it works and the mechanism behind it. In April 2016, while using maps on my phone, I found an option to use your voice to ask for directions, locate the nearest restaurant and other options. This would make me curious on how voice commands can get things done through the Internet. “Less than a year down the line I saw something called a robot vacuum cleaner which I had never seen before, After buying it, I connected it to the phone as the instructions said. I then set up voice control myself. The effort was a big success as the video I post received 1.7K views in a day on Facebook. It was there I began my journey. “Subsequently, I bought an apartment in Providence Residence and turned it into a smart home.”

 According to reports, smart home market is all set to hit $150 billion in the next seven years. “Economic Development Board is the one entity I salute that has changed things around in the country, all due to HRH the Crown Prince. I am tirelessly working to bring the Kingdom another title - the hub of smart homes.”