A sneak preview of a techie’s dream home

HAVING moved into a new house and in result being ever tired of running the house amongst ongoing electrical, plumbing and upholstery works, I let my dream wander as to what technology can do to our home and lifestyle to increase our comfort. While you read this let your imagination run wild to visualise what these gadgets would look like and feel right in your home.

Perfect living room
Beginning with the basics, the living room is voice activated for operating the television, air-conditioning, music and lighting. The very minute you hold the handle on the door, your biometric finger print identifies you and authorises you to enter followed by activating music and lighting controls according to your personal settings. Remember almost everything in the house is RFID tagged and so no more misplaced keys or glasses.
The couch with built-in weighing scale has a mini-display on the arm-rest showing your basics metrics like weight, body temperature, etc. So you can program it to raise alarms at specific weight limits to cut. These programs can also activate and open up a near-by panel with handy gym gadgets right in your living room while you watch TV.

Visitors calls are taken on the television as PIP (Picture In Picture) mode and your room camera can deliver your message on a small screen. The entry permission depends on valid face-recognition scan within your friends and family database.
Depending on your preference settings your television moves to your favourite programs based on time schedules and in case you want to watch something else, then the TiVO activates to record the program onto hard disk for replay later. So thanks to technology no more missing episodes of your most wanted programs.

Cleanest, smartest refreshment
The floor tiles are made of micro-pores that evaporate water instantly and continuously spread perfumed air for an ever fresh toilet. The door handle finger-print activates the cabinet shelves that open to the right toiletries based on the profile: say shaving set or facial creams or brushing set. The shower roof reflects the weather outside, so you can get an indoor sun tan or monsoon shower simulation.
The mirror doubles up as screen to display today’s appointments, stock quotations or TV schedules. The toilette connects to a laundry system that works with the clothes on the hangers from start to finish. The amount of detergent needed, rubbing needed and ironing steam are all customised based on the scanned profile of the soiled clothes which are tagged with RFID chips. By the way even the carpet doubles up as weighing machine that records weight, calculates BMI and plots it as a visual graph for artwork on the wall. No problem, you can even let your doctor receive these daily by email.

Futuristic bedrooms
The sensor loaded bedroom, activates personalised lighting and temperature controls with pod-shades sleep modules for individuals. The roof of the sleep-pod can be customised to project preferred scenes with soothing neon lights simulating a starry-night sky or spring-field blossoms and the like. The room outfitted with voice-activated controls can summon snack trays, refreshments and book-trolleys on mere voice commands.
Interestingly the mattress is self-shaping to body contours and shapes with sensors and soft-pads that can inflate or deflate based on sensor inputs. So no more body aches or neck sprains. The temperature controlled-pool is located just beneath the bed which slides you in gently when turn on.

Kitchen calling
Interestingly the kitchen has errand-robots to deliver food and collect soiled cutleries from any part of the house. The drain tub activates washing sensors based on its load and they stack using a conveyer system beneath the working bench. The refrigerator measures every item taken out and keeps stock of items. It can give our caloric displays of items taken out for a filthy life style which can be personalised with a diet programme. In case of provisions going low, the fridge can send an email to the grocery for orders automatically.

Cooked items have automated date of manufacture and date of expiry while storage and similar RFID tag-based reading can be programmed for all food items. So on expiry they get disposed to the recycling plant attached to the organic garden at home. The cabinet shelves double up as screens for displaying reminders, kitchen recipes or even calorie scales. The mood changing dining room can alter the light colours based on preset preferences say misty mauve to lightning lilac to add punch to your parties.

The flower vases emanate real fragrances, thanks to mood sensors and personalised control settings. All portraits in the house are electronic and hence pictures can be changed in click of the next button and so every time you see something new.

Reality Call
As my dream weaves gadgets of technology turning homes more automated, I also think of the energy dependency and dreaded malware corruption of software controls. The entire house is solar-panelled with a bio-power generated power plant.

It is true that we have several technologies shown hyped in James Bond movies have become a reality in our own modern life styles. If you think I am a dreamer, then I’m not the only one: click online to http://www.forbes.com/2007/05/23/inventions-we-want-tech-cx_07rev_ee_0524inventions.html to read other’s dream technologies.

Man with the advent of technology has made huge strides in adding comfort to his life but nothing can replace the warmth of simplicity that we have left far behind our healthy and eco-friendly life styles. But on the question if technology is a boon or a bane, I end by quoting Bill Gates who said, ‘Humanity’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries or technology — but in how those are applied to reduce inequities in the world’.