The Home Of Tomorrow

Technology is reshaping our lives at a frightening pace, and there’s little doubt that the home of tomorrow will be a wholly different place. Just a few years from now we can look forward to the kind of changes that have been predicted for decades, but never quite arrived.

Wearable tech, the Internet of Things and smart devices are all set to combine with Smartphones that will soon be more intelligent than us with the intention of making our lives simpler, more comfortable and just plain better.

Here are a few of the technologies that we can look forward to in the years ahead:

• Responsive heating

It’s all well and good setting a thermostat to maintain a constant temperature, but imagine a house that responds to the way you’re feeling at any given moment. If you’re feeling warm, your smartwatch or smart clothes will pick up on it and blast cool air to equalise your temperature. If you’re cold, the house will know and adjust the temperature accordingly.

The Google-owned Nest Learning Thermostat is already available and will adjust the temperature according to your schedule, but this is child’s play compared to what is coming.

• Tracking

Heat, lights and even your TV can respond to where you are in the house with simple tracking technology that we have today. The house can be programmed to be super frugal, shutting off the lights when you leave the room, which will inevitably save energy.

As heating systems get more advanced, individual rooms could even be heated according to the pattern of your movements during the course of the day as the house learns your behaviour and responds in real-time.

• Robot cleaners

Forget the Roomba vacuum cleaner, we’re talking about real robots that pick up your mess and clean the house constantly.

The poorly named Care-O-Bot 4, produced by research scientists in Germany, is the first generation of true domestic service robots that can bring you a coffee and pick up your discarded clothes. Equipped with stereoscopic cameras, voice recognition software and more it is a leap forward, but the first prototype looks like a clumsy version of the ‘Lost in Space’ robot and a world away from the helper androids that we’re all waiting for.

• Battery-powered homes

Elon Musk’s Powerwall is a glimpse into the future. It’s an exciting future for us and a nervous one for the power companies. Soon every home could have solar panels on the roof, walls and even the driveway, feeding batteries to power your home.

Musk’s technology isn’t quite there yet, but it’s inconceivable that both batteries and solar panels won’t improve to the point that they can combine to take over powering your home.

• Constant real-time monitoring

Our cars today can tell us when tyre pressure is low or they need a service, but our homes stay quiet. That will change.

Maine-based energy company Total Home Energy Management is already working on a system that monitors the home’s energy cost and carbon footprint in real time. Not only can this system flag up energy spikes to help you save energy and money, it will also monitor individual devices and let you know when it’s time to replace a washing machine or fridge that has become cost-inefficient or is about to break.

• Diagnostic toilets

Yes, seriously, the self-cleaning toilets with integrated bidets and driers that are commonplace in Japan are just the warm-up act. In the future our toilets will be able to diagnose health issues, dietary deficiencies and more.

Putting the seat back down won’t even be an issue and the toilets of the future will even deodorise the bathroom. They will also analyse our excretions and flag up any early warning signs of disease or even pregnancy, and help us lead healthier lives.

• Food printers

These are already here in basic form and with rapid advances in 3D printing we can finally expect to see the printed food that just a few years ago was a Star Trek fantasy. Right now the base ingredients in liquid form can be combined to produce a cold dish that we then have to transfer to the oven or microwave. The next generation of printers should create perfect dishes from the base elements.

It’s a leap of logic and a few major breakthroughs away, but it’s coming.

• Programmable devices

The Internet of Things means arriving home to a nice hot bath will be just a matter of pressing a command on your Smartphone. Your phone will dial it in to your house and the devices will simply communicate to time, drawing your bath to perfection. By the time you open the door, the taps will be just shutting off. The lights will be on and dimmed, a glass of wine or a coffee will be waiting for you and some relaxing music will be cued up and ready to go. This is the tip of the iceberg in terms of pure ability, but it’s a cosy look into the future.

• Home security

Home invasion is an increasing problem, but the home of the future will battle this issue. Stronger materials, secure windows and more will mean that a potential burglar has to gain access through the front door, but the house simply will not let them. Face recognition software will replace the traditional key and burglary will (ideally) become a thing of the past.

Advanced monitoring systems in our homes will form as a secondary protection in any case. If something is happening in your house that shouldn’t be, from a gas leak to a break-in, your home will send you a message to let you know.

Know of any other exciting progressions the Internet of Things could bring to our future homes? Tweet us @UK2.