The home of the future will think, take care of things, react to its residents' wishes and regulate what it does in accordance with those wishes. Domestic appliances equipped with new technology will be on sale in a few years' time. The first will be entertainment electronics.

According to a research programme being led by the Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT), the machines, equipment and systems in the homes of the future will be in contact with each other via a wireless network. Via the home network they will be in contact with the Internet, which will make it possible to manage a home regardless of time or place.

There are already wireless networks in homes, but they are meant primarily for the networking of home PCs. "It will be possible to use the same technology for controlling domestic appliances in the near future," says Heikki Pentikäinen, the head of the research programme.

"The absence of wires in a home network will make it possible to install and use the network easily. When it is sufficiently easy to use equipment, machines and systems that exploit the new technology on an everyday basis, large civil groups will become interested."

Personalized technology

A home network and intelligent domestic appliances will make it possible to provide a wide range of services for a home via the network. Services may include security and health services, the care and maintenance of equipment, teaching and guidance or entertainment services such as television programmes, games and films.

Equipment and systems exploiting new technology collect information about themselves and their environment. For example, surveillance cameras, alarm systems and domestic appliances observe themselves and communicate faults. Security and alarm systems give warning about dangers threatening the home from the surroundings. A picture can already be sent from a surveillance camera to a resident's mobile phone.

Security and alarm systems can, if necessary, perform other functions such as changing the air-conditioning settings or opening ventilation grills. These can also be programmed to operate on a resident-by-resident basis so that they can decide on the air conditioning needed in accordance with personal wishes.

"Health care and the care of old people can be among the first to benefit from the new technology," Pentikäinen predicts.

On sale in two years' time

The new technology will open up big business opportunities for equipment manufacturers and providers of network connections and services. As the number of home networks grows, so the demand for utility and entertainment services obtainable on a network will increase.

"Although there are no domestic appliances exploiting the new technology on the market at the moment, many manufacturers have already displayed their prototypes at fairs. They will be on sale in two years' time. Commercial equipment for entertainment electronics linked to a home network may become available to consumers more quickly," Pentikäinen thinks.

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The home of the future will be controlled without wires via, for example, the TV. Icons of domestic appliances that can be controlled by remote control are seen on the screen.