Home of the future is now

No one lives in Microsoft’s model home in Redmond, Washington, but it is a template for the future. Indeed, many houses throughout the USA already have hints of Microsoft’s model home. Might this be a working blueprint for better things, of a life that just decades ago seemed possible only in the world of science fiction?

What once seemed conceivable only on The Jetsons is a real prospect in the next few years. If you’ve heard these utopian and futuristic promises before, only to be disappointed, this story is for you. Because as Americans embrace 2013 and the new year that is upon us, know this: The future of American homes is now.

The rise of intelligent devices, ongoing breakthroughs in robotics, cloud computing and other newfangled technology promise to usher in a new phase in luxuriant and wired home living. Hyperbole of years past has quickly melted away as a pantheon of tech titans -- ranging from Apple and Google to Samsung and Microsoft -- vie for home-field advantage. Home increasingly is where billions of dollars are expected to be spent on technology as consumers nest in their living rooms and bedrooms on smartphones, tablets and gaming consoles.

Elements of the future home -- smart TVs and newfangled sound systems -- will be on display next week at the sprawling International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Since The Jetsons’ animated TV show -- which touted a life-size in-home robot, a computerized kitchen and flying cars -- automated homes have been a staple in American culture, from TV’s Futurama and the big screen’s I, Robot and Blade Runner to the pages of Wired magazine.

For more than a decade, Bill Gates has rhapsodized about homes of the future. But he was able to achieve his digital dream home through his enormous wealth and contacts. Gates’ 66,000-square-foot mansion on the shores of Lake Washington near Seattle took seven years and $63 million to build. It houses a computerized server system and a digitally controlled climate.

“If this stuff was easy, it would have been in our homes years ago,” says Gilles BianRosa, CEO of Fanhattan, an iPhone and iPad app that helps users find and watch movies and TV shows on services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime. “Wow technology doesn’t always pass the test for practical use, such as smartphone control of TV.”

“The office is (an environment) for lean-forward experience for smartphone apps and total concentration, but home is lean-back, where you want to relax and don’t want to think too much,” he says. “This stuff takes time to develop for simple use.”

Because there is no standard building code in the U.S., “This gets in the way of ambitious automation systems,” says Paul Saffo, a respected futurist in Silicon Valley.

Complicating matters, the average life of a home in the USA is about 55 years, which means anything new has to be back-compatible and easily added as a remodel. By comparison, the life cycle for an appliance is about 10 years; for a laptop, two years; and for a smartphone, 18 months.

“Today’s hot new automation is hopelessly antiquated in two years and has to be replaced,” Saffo says. “This is why, for example, I never put a built-in cellphone in my car. The car would stay current for five years, but the phone would be obsolete for three of those years.”

What this means for architects and building contractors is a renewed look at how they design and build homes, with the inclusion of new gadgets designed to blend into living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms.

Architect Tom Kinslow, who has designed homes and commercial buildings in the U.S. and abroad, says changes are often incremental. “It’s no different than (home additions) for people interested in art,” he says. Tech-based entertainment centers will lead to the installation of sound systems and screens within walls. Smart windows will be bigger than traditional windows. And increased use of shared, driverless cars will eliminate the need for garages or dramatically reduce their size, he says.

Yet these nagging complications from the past have not slowed the inevitable -- and inevitably thrilling -- march into the future.

Some 821 million smart devices -- smartphones and tablets -- are estimated to have been sold last year and 1.2 billion are expected to be sold in 2013, according to Gartner.

“There are smarter phones, so why not smarter homes?” says SoundCloud CEO Alexander Ljung. “It’s perhaps natural that the phone is a remote control for a lot of things. Touch-screens are replacing buttons.”

Sprinklers, kitchen appliances, washers,We are pleased to offer the following list of professional mold maker and casters. dryers, lights, windows,We mainly supply professional craftspeople with wholesale agate beads from china, pools -- all could be controlled from a phone or tablet, Saffo and others say.

Jo De Boeck, chief technology officer of Imec, a Belgium-based think tank that specializes in smart electronics and renewable energy, envisions homes festooned with robots, smart meters and lighting, magic mirrors to view how you might look in your ensemble, and smart-device hubs. He sees digital refrigerators and interactive medicine cabinets that will be able to monitor what you eat as well as your energy management.Argo Mold limited specialize in Plastic injection mould manufacture, Oh, and a driverless car or two in the garage.

“It’s kind of Big Brother, yes,” says De Boeck, though he notes that perhaps that’s the cost of keeping you healthy while saving money.

And what futuristic home would be complete without a robot of some sort? Well, robots are slowly marching into homes in the form of toys and servants,Installers and distributors of solar panel, acting as modern-day R2-D2s of Star Wars fame.

Bossa Nova Robotics is developing a robot maid modeled after The Jetsons’ Rosie for less than $5,000. Sarjoun Skaff, co-founder and CTO of the San Francisco company, predicts that within 10 years, general-purpose robots -- at $25,000 to $30,Posts with indoor tracking system on TRX Systems develops systems that locate and track personnel indoors.000 per unit -- will perform house chores while people are at work.

The kitchen, in particular, will be a model of futuristic living. Flexible displays will be built into ovens, refrigerators and dishwashers to tell consumers everything from the optimum temperature to cook certain dishes to whether leftovers in the refrigerator are spoiled.