1966-1967 ECHO IV and the Kitchen Computer was two of the pioneers of Smart Devices. ECHO IV was the first smart device, even though it was never sold. This machine could compute shopping list, control home’s temperature and turn appliances on and off. The Kitchen Computer was developed a year later and could store recipes, but unfortunately, there were no sold models. The fourth ECHO, or Electronic Computing Home Operator, was the first device created with the idea of home automation in mind. Built in 1966, it needed lots of room to operate, 3kw (3000 watts) of power to run, and plenty of technical know-how to use. Also ‘Lots of room’ would be an understatement! Computers back then needed entire rooms or sometimes could occupy an entire floor. James Sutherland, an ECHO IV engineer, stated, “it looked more like the home was built to house the computer instead of the other way around.” It was composed of four cabinets weighing 800 pounds! All that mass and the CPU clocked in at ...