Sony develops smart power outlets

Sony has demonstrated a prototype “smart” power outlet that can identify and authenticate the owner of a connected appliance.

According to Ars Technica, the outlet uses NFC (near field communication) or RFID (radio-frequency identification) over power line protocols to communicate with a connected appliance, managing its electricity use on a per-use and per-device basis. In turn, the outlet and its supply can be remotely managed via the cloud.

The new device, in turn, follows a growing trend of “smart” appliances that integrate powerful microprocessors, cloud computing and internet access.

Sony anticipates smart grid load management (where non-essential devices are remotely deactivated), remote energy use monitoring, and charging stations in common areas of buildings to all be potential uses of the new technology.