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The Future Of... |
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Home |
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Students! Thinking about your future?
Click here for a special
section of our site made just for you. Tons of career
and homework resources.. |
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Home
of The Future

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The Smart Home

My home is not very smart. It does not know when to start my coffee or how to clean the
floor. It has difficulty distinguishing between a roaring
grease fire and a steamy shower, which makes it a good
thing it can't remember the number to call in an
emergency. The only interaction I have with the house is when
I must dance the Macarena in front of the motion detector to
get my outside lights to come on.
What will be in the smart home of the
future?
These are my predictions for the
home of the future. What are yours? (Visitor's
predictions in green)
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Construction |
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Printable homes |
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Self assembling
homes |
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Earthquake
proof homes |
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Windows and walls will allow
adjustable amounts of sunlight, warmth or cold
in. |
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Computer/Electronics |
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Hidden
computers, sensors, microphones and electronics throughout
the house. |
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Central
computer accepts voice commands, distinguishes
between occupants for personalized responses
and actions |
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Computer tracks
movements, turns on/off lights, adjusts
temperature, etc. |
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Computers,
appliances, all electronics are networked and
connected to the internet. |
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Monitor and control home
appliances, computer, security from the
internet. |
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Interactive
mirrors
display the latest news,
weather and traffic information |
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Wall size video and audio |
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See-through electronics, screens, touch panels,
haptic displays |
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Computer lets you know when
appliances need maintenance, can request repair
dispatch. |
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Television, computer and phone merge into one
device |
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All devices are connected |
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House keeps record of
things that come in to and go out of the
house. Thus things are never lost in the house |
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Decor |
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Shape-shifting furniture |
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Movable furniture hides when not being used |
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Walls and fabrics that change color |
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Energy |
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Small environmental footprint |
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Generates its own energy |
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Vehicle refueling station,
electric, hydrogen |
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Wireless recharging of mobile
devices |
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Environment |
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Recycled waste water |
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Green (plants) roofs |
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Kitchen |
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Fast cooking -
boil water in seconds, turkey in an hour |
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Recipe database |
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Robot/machine
chef |
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Instant inventory of food,
medications, supplies |
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House creates
personalized diets |
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House can replenish your
groceries by ordering online. Auto-restocking |
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Medical |
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Virtual
medicine. Doctors can treat you at home, from
their office. |
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Home computer
monitors your health through tiny, invisible,
wireless wearable computing devices. |
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Robotics |
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Cleaning robots |
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Personal robots |
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Nurse Robots |
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Pet robot |
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Security |
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Biometric screening devices for
secure entry |
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Automatic emergency response |
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Other |
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Desktop
nano-factories makes products at home |
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Virtual reality room
(holodeck) |
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House retrieves the mail |
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House makes beds |
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Last
update: 12/04/2009
Added: House keeps record of things that come
in to and go out of the house, house makes
beds.
Thanks to all that have sent in predictions!
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Engineering the Smart Home
In creating the
home of the future, engineers seek to understand what
technologies are best suited for the home and how much
technology its residents can tolerate.
Research is mainly being
done in these areas:
Health - Monitoring
your health, with emphasis on assisting the elderly.
Networking -
Connecting occupants and everything else in the house
together.
Interfacing - You
and technology living with each other in harmony.
Pervasive Computing - Tiny processing devices
everywhere.
Environment -
Reducing environmental impact.
Energy - Every home
produces its own energy.
Robotics
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Robot assisted living. Cleaners, caregivers and
companions.
One way researchers test
futuristic home ideas is to build a smart
home, then invite people to live in it.
Technologies for the smart home are being
tested in living laboratories like these:
Philips
Experience Lab
PlaceLab
Aware Home
Smart Home Dorm Opens Its Doors
Gator Tech Smart House
The Drexel Smart House
CASAS Smart Home

Bendable
Concrete
New fiber-reinforced bendable
concrete looks like regular concrete, but is 500
times more resistant to cracking and 40 percent
lighter in weight.
Bendable Concrete

FAB TREE HAB

Image courtesy of
Mitchell Joachim
This
symbiotic
home concept proposes a method to grow life
sustaining homes from native trees. It is one
of many futuristic and environmentally friendly
designs that can be found at
terreform.org.

Future Home Links
Home Smart Home
Future Kitchen (Flickr)
Future Kitchen (Flickr)
What's For Dinner? Just Call Your Refrigerator
Counter Intelligence
Intelligent home
Tricked-Out Inflatable House Provides "Instant
Survival"
Organic dye lets window panes harvest the Sun
Interactive Architecture
Heat reactive paint
Household products forecast
Brighter LED Lights Could Replace Household Light
Bulbs Within Three Years
Chasing a Habitable 'Home of the Future'
A Brilliant Future for the Smart Home
Reinventing the Home Appliance
Is there a smart home in your future?
Smart home, smarter home
SmartHome
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