What your home will look like in the future
Rapid advances in technology have allowed humankind to accomplish amazing feats.
As the world braces with the release of each amazing new personal device, the last slowly changing facet of our lives is starting to pick up pace: your home.
In the next five to 10 years, you will see some amazing changes in the way you live. Hold onto your sofa, because life is about to change for the better.
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Cooking in the kitchen
Recipe books will become a thing of the past once your kitchen table gets a high-tech upgrade.
For their Concept Kitchen 2025 project, Ikea designed a kitchen table that analyses ingredients and presents recipes, giving you step-by-step instructions as you go. Heating elements built into the table then allow you to cook meals on the same bench.
Smart kitchen benches can even tell you what to make for dinner.
Italian company Toncelli Kitchens has developed a similar appliance. The Prisma kitchen bench is a multipurpose touchscreen with full internet access and the ability to screen various media.
As designs like these merge, we’ll see the arrival of an all-in-one solution with your stovetop becoming a thing of the past.
When combined with a grocery ordering system, your kitchen will automatically order and have delivered food ingredients, ensuring you’re never short of your favourite foods.
Will this stifle creativity in the kitchen? The opposite. We can expect large online communities to evolve, with users creating and sharing recipes with the world, all displayed conveniently on your kitchen bench.
Is there a doctor in the house?
Your house may soon be able to monitor your health.
Those health trackers and watches you use to monitor your activities; they aren’t the future, they’re only grooming you for what’s to come.
The home of the future will be more ‘life control centre’ than simple domicile. By combining data gathered from exercise trackers and diet information from your kitchen, your home will be able to track your health with great accuracy and make recommendations accordingly.
This collated health data, including heart rate and blood pressure, will also give medical practitioners access to crucial information at the touch of a button.
Irregularities in your vital signs could also trigger your home to schedule an appointment with a doctor, or even notify emergency services should a critical event arise.
To catch a thief …
As the population of any city increases in size, so too will the crime rate. Needless to say, security will be an increasing concern in the home of the future.
As a response, we’ll soon see home security systems that are more like gatekeepers than simple detection and alert systems. These systems will monitor inhabitants and their guests and even provide assistance when you’re away from home.
You will be able to protect your smart home from afar.
FST Biometrics – a software security company – has developed software for personal home use that recognises users based on facial, vocal and behavioural patterns.
Such a system could also automatically detect when an unknown person is present and take action according to pre-set rules.
For example, if you’re on holidays overseas and an intruder is detected in your house, your home will contact you and ask for direction on how to deal with the situation.
With security cameras and automatic locks as standard fittings, you need only find a viewing screen to see who has entered, then instruct your home to confine them to a single room while you await the arrival of authorities.
Yes, it all sounds a little like Jarvis from Iron Man, but the reality is these systems are in development as you read these very words.
Step into the future right now
It may be five to 10 years before we see all these advancements reach widespread use, but the exciting part is you can take baby steps into the home of the future right now, with these devices below.
• Belkin WeMo Switch+Motion & Belkin Netcam HD+
This highly portable motion detector can be set up in a snap, enabling you to monitor any room, hallway, garage, etc. The connected WeMo Switch then activates your chosen device, such as a floodlight or home alarm.
When combined with the Belkin Netcam HD+ you can get alerts on your smartphone whenever movement is sensed in your home, then fire up the camera – including night vision – and see who’s stealing your fine china.
• Withings Smart Body Analyzer & Activité Pop
The Activité Pop activity tracker and Smart Body Analyzer scales from Withings make a great team, giving you body fat measurements along with weight, completing your health portrait. Access your data online or via your smartphone for regular comprehensive health reports.
With a Sesame smart lock installed on your existing door lock, you can leave your keys at home and use your smartphone to lock and unlock your home.
The Sesame also gives you control of your door lock from afar, so you can let in a family member who forgot their keys or lock your door if you’ve left home in a rush and forgotten to.
The next best thing to being there, the BeamPro is a moving ‘telepresence’ robot that lets your video self drive around while you chat.
When combined with an automatic entry system, you could greet and invite a friend into your home from the other side of the globe.
Do you use devices like this at home? Tell us about your experiences below.
