I MET WITH Dr. Future in a small, crowded restaurant in San Diego, CA, where his company Intellihomes is based. Intellihomes manufactures operating system software for the "Smart House". Dr. Future is also considered to be one of the leading projectionists in the housing industry. He seems to have an incredible knack for predicting future trends - a skill which has made his company extremely successful. With Smart Houses becoming more of a reality every day, I decided to find out more about the trend. Within a decade or two, Smart technology will likely be a standard component in new homes, and older homes will be upgraded as wireless components become available. Similar to television, like it or not, Smart Houses are here to stay.
Q: Dr. Future, can you explain the term "Smart House?"
A: Smart Houses are homes designed for security, convenience and comfort. The homes are fully networked, interactive systems, designed with the consumer in mind. Today's Smart Houses have programmable thermostats, entertainment systems, security systems, garages and lights - all of which can be adjusted on your way home from work. Each house has a user-friendly CPU with an easy to read and modify GUI.Q: How does the system work?
A: Each appliance is connected by cable, infrared or radio wave transmitters to the CPU. Typically, homes are networked in a star topology. The CPU will do everything from setting your VCR to alerting you when your front door is open. The Intellihomes OS is accessible through your home computer and TV. Sensors throughout the house monitor different values including temperature, light intensity, volume, etc. The CPU reads the information coming from these sensors and regulates the levels of each output device necessary to meet the home owners needs.Q: How does the homeowner access the OS?
A: The CPU is accessible through several controls which are already present in most homes. The GUI can be used through the owner's home computer or television, and voice menus can be used through both internal and external phone lines.Q: What about the Smart Home of the future?
A: The smart home of the future will have several exciting features. One feature is LCD windows. Currently LCDs can be used to adjust the opacity of a window. Eventually, a home will be programmable so that files similar to today's Quicktime VR can be uploaded to the windows, providing a 360 degree view of any outside environment. This may be used to create the illusion of different seasons, weather, geographical locations, or even a different time of day. Along the same lines is projected wall coverings. Walls will be painted with a special phosphorescent paint. The home's lighting system will project different colours on the walls, allowing the homeowner to redecorate without repainting. Paintings and other wall coverings can be replicated and projected as well.Another feature of the future home will be the intelligent kitchen. Your fridge will be able to scan its contents according to bar codes and content mass. The information collected will be available in a digital catalogue displayed on a flat screen display in the door. From this catalogue, the user can view the fridge's contents as well as a list of potential meals and their recipes according to the ingredients available. It will also notify you when you are running low on certain products, and generate shopping lists which may be edited by the user. Similar devices will be available for cupboards and pantries to ensure that all food is accounted for. All other appliances in the kitchen will also be monitored and controlled through the CPU.
Q: I see a great number of problems that could arise from the future home. How do you plan to protect smart homes against viruses and crashes?
A: All Intellihome CPUs are routed through a central Intellihome server, which acts as a firewall between the home CPU and potential on-line viruses. As a further precaution, Intellihomes is developing ViRepel - a program which detects any foreign entities in your home's network. Once detected, the foreign entity will be stopped and the OS will dispose of the file if it is any threat to the network. As for crashes, they are a fact of life that cannot really be avoided. Intellihomes provides its customers with 24-hour telediagnostic service, which is automatically activated by the home's CPU. Because the network is a star topology, a single crashed appliance won't take down the rest of the system.Today, as one of the greatest technological advances in human history, computers are invading our homes. Tomorrow, computers will be our homes. With promises of improved security, convenience, and comfort, there is no denying the inevitable next step in home evolution will be the Smart Home.
