Home
Future Homes
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?
Predictions made by visitors to Future For All are in Green |
|
Bathroom |
|
|
Waste elimination |
|
|
Ultrasonic showers |
|
Bedroom |
|
House makes beds |
|
Lighting creates artificial sunrise |
|
Computer suggests clothing based on your taste, weather, etc. |
|
Cleaning |
|
Self washing, drying, and folding clothes |
|
All surfaces are disinfecting and cleansing |
|
Self-cleaning tabletop and dishes |
|
Intelligent/adaptable fabrics and clothing |
|
Construction |
|
Printable homes |
|
Self assembling homes |
|
Earthquake proof homes |
|
Windows and walls will allow adjustable amounts of sunlight, warmth or cold in. |
|
Personalized ergonomics |
|
Hanging house |
|
| |
Soundproof rooms and windows. Soundproof energy fields that you can walk through |
|
Computer/Electronics |
|
Hidden computers, sensors, microphones and electronics throughout the house. |
|
Central computer accepts voice commands, distinguishes between occupants for personalized responses and actions |
|
Computer tracks movements, turns on/off lights, adjusts temperature, etc. |
|
Computers, appliances, all electronics are networked and connected to the internet. |
|
Monitor and control home appliances, computer, security from anywhere. |
|
Interactive mirrors display the latest news, weather and traffic information |
|
Wall size video and audio |
|
See-through electronics, screens, touch panels, haptic displays |
|
Computer lets you know when appliances need maintenance, can request repair dispatch. |
|
Television, computer and phone merge into one device |
|
All devices are connected |
|
Walls, ceilings, (all other room surfaces) are digital screens. Can turn room into any environment with sounds and smells |
|
Replicators |
|
|
|
House keeps record of things that come in to and go out of the house. Thus things are never lost in the house |
|
|
Computer recognizes footsteps or other biosigns for personalization |
|
|
Window tint adjusts from opaque/dark at night to shades lighter as needed during the day, with voice command overrides as needed |
Decor |
|
Shape-shifting furniture |
|
Movable furniture hides when not being used |
|
Walls and fabrics that change color |
|
Energy |
|
Small environmental footprint |
|
Generates its own energy |
|
Vehicle refueling station, electric, hydrogen |
|
Wireless recharging of mobile devices when at home |
|
Environment |
|
Recycled waste water |
|
Green (plants) roofs |
|
Roof of smart house uses artificial chlorophyll as an oxygen generator |
|
Kitchen |
|
Fast cooking - boil water in seconds, turkey in an hour |
|
Recipe database |
|
Robot/machine chef |
|
Instant inventory of food, medications, supplies |
|
|
|
House creates personalized diets |
|
|
House can replenish your groceries by ordering online. Auto-restocking |
|
|
Prepared food will be instantly teleported to the home and a universal credit card will be charged. The homeowner will simply specify with voice commands the specific food items requested |
Medical |
|
Virtual medicine. Doctors can treat you at home, from their office. |
|
Home computer monitors your health through tiny, invisible, wireless wearable computing devices. |
|
Robotics |
|
Cleaning robots |
|
Personal robots |
|
Nurse Robots |
|
Pet robot |
|
Security |
|
Biometric screening devices for secure entry |
|
Automatic emergency response |
|
Other |
|
Desktop nano-factories makes products at home |
|
Virtual reality room (holodeck) |
|
House retrieves the mail |
|
| Thanks to all that have sent in predictions! Send yours below. | |
Email Your Comments, Links or Pictures
or use this contact form
Visitor Comments
08.07.10
House able to link to GPS of residents and know when each arriving home. All heat/air turned off when no one home, but can turn on in time to cool or heat before get home as it would be able to tell when someone would be arriving. - Anonymous
![]()
08.05.10
window tint adjusts from opaque/dark at night to shades lighter as needed during the day, with voice command overrides as needed - Anonymous
![]()
07.29.10
May be the roof of smart house also has artificial chlorophyll as an oxygen generator :) Just an idea. - Andry
![]()

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.
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 - 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:
Smart Home Dorm Opens Its Doors
![]()
| Title | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 'Roll it' turns compact housing on its head | Gizmag | 07/11 |
| Talking to the Wall | Technology Review | 06/11 |
| Buildings Made with a Printer | Technology Review | 04/11 |
| The "Smart Home" Is Finally Here, Says One Expert | CBS News | 01/11 |
| Latest in technologies will be part of sustainable smart home | IFP | 06/10 |
| Smart homes to tell you if elderly relative has had a fall | Daily Mail | 06/10 |
| Your Future Home's Roof Will Be Eco-Friendly Too | Fast Company | 10/09 |
| Tricked-Out Inflatable House Provides Instant Survival | Wired Science | 11/08 |
| Organic dye lets window panes harvest the Sun | New Scientist | 07/08 |
| Is there a smart home in your future? | CNET | 08/07 |
| Chasing a Habitable Home of the Future | NPR | 05/06 |
| Bendable Concrete | University of Michigan | 05/05 |
| Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Built Green | Green home building program |
| Counter Intelligence | MIT Media Lab |
| Heat reactive paint | Alsa Corp. |
| How Smart Homes Work | How Stuff Works |
| Interactive Architecture | InteractiveArchitecture.org |
| Monsanto House of the Future | Yesterland |
| Reinventing the Home Appliance | Microsoft |
| SmartHome | ABC News |
| Smart Home: Green + Wired | Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) |
| Description | Sources |
|---|---|
| Advanced Neighbourhood (futuristic architecture artwork) | MocoLoco |
| Future Home Displays Comforts of Tomorrow | YouTube |
| Future Kitchen | Flickr |
| Future Kitchen | Flickr |
| GE future concept for kitchen | YouTube |
| H-P's Home of the Future | YouTube |
| Inside Microsoft's Future Home | YouTube |
| Kitchen of the Future | YouTube |
| Microsoft's Future Vision in HD Windows Home Concept | YouTube |
| Sony House of the Future: Select Reviews | YouTube |
| South Korea's home of the future | YouTube |
| Article | Sources |
|---|---|
| Smart Home | Article by ffa Image licensed from istock - do not copy |
Many of the articles found on this web site are from a blogger that couldn't tell you the difference between hydrochloric and high colonic. We try our very best to provide you with useful, accurate information, but we don't always get it right. Please read our full disclaimer before quoting us at work, school or world conferences.