Smart homes wired for the future

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

Related Articles

‘People still prefer piracy to paying for world ci...

: Not too long ago, the world’s richest man, Bill Gates, made headlines with his multi-million dollar mansion’s ability to change temperature, music and artwork on the digital walls to suit a visitor’s tastes. Back then, having an intelligent home seemed like science fiction at its best—a privilege that only the super rich could afford.

However, when IBM veteran John Patrick unveiled his home a year ago, Bill Gates’ mansion seemed out of date in comparison. At Patrick’s digital haven, literally everything is wired together into a home network that functions autonomously much like a central nervous system. The list includes his home theatre, TVs, audio/video systems, lights, heating, air conditioning, garage doors, window blinds, spa, computers and more. What makes Patrick’s home the epitome of the wired home of the future is the fact that although many homes today may have a few of its advanced features, virtually none have them all wired together and functioning as cohesively as his does.

Best of all, Patrick’s home is just another stop on the Web and he can access it much in the same way he accesses his email or social network. This means that Patrick can effectively “login” into his wired home server and control virtually everything remotely, which includes dimming the lights, playing music, monitoring live feeds captured by the video cameras dotting his property, or even resetting his access passwords from miles away.

The master server that controls this entire “home network” is a unit comprising more than a dozen computers—enough processing power to run the daily operations of a small office. Hi-tech touch pads and instrument panels replace switches in this modern home. User preferences for lighting, music, heating, air conditioning, ventilation etc are stored as intelligent profiles on the network from where they can be accessed at the touch of a button on the panel through a Web-page like screen interface. For example, if Patrick selects the “Go to Bed” option on his panel, the staircase leading to his bedroom is automatically illuminated while all the lights in the lower floor are turned off. The network functions autonomously as well—for example, Radio Frequency ID tags embedded inside Patrick’s cars and motorcycles are read by RFID readers concealed inside his garage doors, authenticating entry and opening automatically as soon as the vehicle draws near.