Move into the smart house of the future

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by PCWorld Staff

(IDG) -- People are constantly predicting what new gadgets and innovations will revolutionize our homes over the coming years. Matsushita Electric Industrial, better known by its Panasonic brand name, recently unveiled a real-life preview of what the future may hold.

The company unveiled its second-generation HII (Home Information Infrastructure) house in the center of its Multimedia Center in Tokyo. Since the first-generation house was put on display, the project has gained a letter "e" and become the eHII house to reflect the concepts of e-living in a networked society, the company says.

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More so than its predecessor, the new house focuses on home networking, and that means that almost everything, from the television and DVD player to the microwave and toilet, are on the domestic network.

At the center of the network is a home gateway station that has both Ethernet and HomePNA (Home Phone Networking Alliance) wireline and Personal Handyphone System wireless ports for connection to devices in the home. It is linked to a variety of wide area networks, including the Internet, satellite broadcasting systems, and third-generation W-CDMA wireless networks.

Screen Your Visitors

The first innovation built into the house hits you before you even step inside. Looking much like a conventional video phone entry system, Matsushita's new version lets you see who is at the door and talk with them via a video cell phone even when you are not at home.

Innovations in the bedroom include an electronic health checker that will monitor several aspects of the user's health and can also be programmed to send data to health professionals. If there is a problem, the user can interact with a doctor from the system, or data gathered can alert the doctor to a potential problem and lead to a more comprehensive checkup.

Just in case you get lonely in the home of the future, the house also comes with a robot pet, in the form of a teddy bear. Sony has long been predicting the market for such products will be big in the future and is already selling its Aibo entertainment robot. Matsushita's pet robot is only a prototype now but is further evidence that other electronics companies share Sony's view.

What's Cooking in the Kitchen?

The kitchen includes a host of gadget-packed devices, from the refrigerator to the microwave oven. A voice memo panel on the refrigerator provides a high-tech replacement for a note attached with a magnet and even allows users to call in from mobile phones and listen to stored memos or add memos of their own. The microwave is intelligent enough to tailor cooking to the food being prepared.

The kitchen also hosts the main management system for the house. It monitors all functions of the home and keeps a watch on energy usage to keep waste at a minimum. Energy consumption is further reduced through a series of rooftop solar panels that provide electricity to run the home.

The living room and office or hobby room are packed with gadgets, although many of them are already available in electronics stories. Features include a wall-hanging plasma display panel, digital satellite receiver, DVD-Video player, and fiber-to-the-home gateway station. Owners can use the TV to monitor the home information system and keep an eye on all the high-tech systems.

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Home, Web-enabled home
(PCWorld.com)
No place like the future
(Digit)
Home, sweet digital home
(PCWorld.com)
Every home device can be linked to the Web
(The Industry Standard)
LG introduces Internet washing machine
(IDG.net)
Audrey aims to organize your household
(The Industry Standard)
A network in every home?
(PCWorld.com)
Home network options grow, get cheaper
(PCWorld.com)

Panasonic

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