Opening a shutter, switching on a lamp, setting the heating or unlocking a door: home automation ties these gestures to a phone, an adapted switch or the voice.
For a person with reduced mobility, these are actions that become possible again without help. Voice control saves moving around; routines chain several actions in a single word.
Voice does not suit everyone: speech impairments, noisy surroundings, a need for discretion. Each function must stay reachable another way, by touch, sight or a physical control.
Reliability and privacy matter too. A home that depends on a connection or a remote service must keep working when that service stops.