New Research Finds Strong Interest in Low-Cost Home Automation Solutions -- According to new research from The Diffusion Group, more than one-half of U.S. Internet households are to varying degrees interested in purchasing a home control system (HCS) to automate the control of home lighting, room temperature and security systems if the price of the solution is less than $200. Innovations in automation technology, combined with the diffusion of home networks, have helped to bring the cost of home control functionality down to a level where consumers are more likely to be interested in connecting and automating systems in their homes. TDG's research found that although consumer interest in HCS is greatest at prices below $200, higher price levels sustained significant interest. For example, approximately 30 percent of Internet heads-of-household are to varying degrees interested in purchasing a HCS if priced between $200 and $400, and 20 percent are to varying degrees if the price is more than $400.
Artificial intelligence tools for product design have largely been sold to engineering leaders as a productivity story: faster renders, quicker iterations, fewer manual CAD operations. According to the latest market study by ABI Research, the market for artificial intelligence in product design is set to grow from $628 million in 2025 to $4.3 billion by 2035; that's a 21.3 percent compound annual growth rate. The trajectory reflects a market moving past assistive tools and into a phase where AI becomes structurally embedded in how products get engineered, simulated, and validated. For executives overseeing engineering, product development, and R&D organizations, this is no longer a tooling decision. It is a competitive positioning decision, and the window to shape it is narrower than most roadmaps assume. The Ten-Year Growth Outlook Mechanical product design and simulation is the AI beachhead within manufacturing. A full 62 percent of manufacturers are already running AI projec...