5 Ways you will be able to create your own dream home.
As technology improves we are finding ways to really personalise our lives, from Facebook and Youtube only sending ads you are likely to be interested in to Amazon knowing exactly which book you should be reading and Netflix telling you which movie you should be watching. We are yet to see any of this tech enter the home — however it is my belief within the next 5–10 years technology will emerge that allows you to ultra personalise your home to the point that 2 different people living inside it can experience it in different ways.
3D printing
Between the Russians and the Chinese the race to have a fully operating scalable 3D printer that can print a house is on. With 2 companies really taking the lead on 3D printing houses — Apis Cor and Winsum.
Regardless of who comes out on top, no one can debate otherwise that this new technology is really going to change the construction industry for good, with it now possible to create an architecturally designed house out of any shape imaginable, within 24 hours and at a price of approximately $275 per square meter.
In the past the only way to create cheap housing has been to mass produce houses which has resulted in suburbs of all the same house offering no personalisation at all. Soon the opposite will occur, with home builders being able to design and print their home in any shape they wish. Suddenly curves are no longer an issue. Better yet though, this does allow architects to design extremely efficient houses that take advantage of heat distribution and energy efficiency. We are no doubt about to enter an era of extremely interesting house designs.
Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality is still in its early stages, and as far as I am aware no application is available yet, however it is only a matter of time until all arguments over which colour to paint the wall are over, given every single person living in the house will be able to design the interior of the house in their own personal taste. From the brooding teenager who wants to fill their room with emo posters to the wife who wants flowers and freshness inside a rustic cabin. Better yet, you can change your internal environment with a simple swipe. Looking to go on date night? — simply download the layout for your favourite French restaurant, or snuggle up in a log cabin watching the fire.
This technology will literally save tens of thousands of dollars in interior design, and will open up a new market for digital household accessories. Companies such as Microsoft Hololens and Magic Leap are really leading the way in Augmented Reality technology and within the next 3 years we will see this become mainstream — so if you are thinking of undergoing a massive renovation in the foreseeable future — maybe just buy a couple of hololenses and decorate the house in your own style.
Smart Houses
Smart technology has already entered the home in a variety of different areas — from security to lighting to heating, the internet of things is really going to be changing our relationship with our house, as our house starts to learn more about us and engage with our living patterns.
Smart houses are not only more energy efficient in the fact that they are able to automatically adjust the house temperature and notify when electronics are turned on, they also play a massive part in security. From face and fingerprint recognition allowing for keyless entry, to identifying visitors and handymen when you are not home and giving you the ability to unlock the door and allow them in.
However we are only at the very beginning of the smart house revolution. We will soon see a lot more personalised living styles. From the house automatically dimming the lights to make you feel sleepy when it is your bed time, to creating a much nicer wake up call than you current alarm clock. As more and more items join the internet of things we will soon be able to track and know everything. Problems will be fixed before they even happen and having a home will become so much more enjoyable.
Personal Assistants
As a secondary to smart homes we will also have our own Jarvis style, AI driven personal assistant. Don’t believe me? Amazon has already brought out Echo driven by Alexa, the iphone’s Siri is old news and Google have joined in the competition launching Google Now. For the time being these assistants are confined to a certain device, but it will be only a matter of a couple of years until they are connected across multiple devices and being accessible from anywhere. They will be connected into your house and able to turn on and off certain functions within the house, make smart decisions based upon your behavioural patterns including cooking you dinner from scratch. The same assistant will also be with you on your phone (however this device looks in the future), your car and all other technology applications meaning they will constantly be with you.
From reminding you about your doctors appointment, to ordering you an uber and booking your plane tickets, your assistant will become invaluable within your life. Whilst some people are freaking out about how AI could change the way we live, I personally welcome our robot overlords.
High definition
High definition is only a couple of generations away from being even more detailed than the human eye can recognise. When this happens not only will holograms and telecommuting become indistinguishable from actually being in an office together, we will also see how it changes in the home.
Similar to Augmented Reality, high definition screens are going to allow us to create any view we want — always wanted to have an ocean side apartment? And it will be in absolute crystal clear visibility, even clearer than those who have a legit ocean view property.
This becomes important as we have to start creating housing in some lesser desirable locations (think Mexico’s giant Earthscraper with people living up to 20 floors below the earths surface) by bringing in high definition windows that can project any image or view you choose, suddenly such a place becomes quite attractive. As we move into a world where digital and reality are about to be blurred movies such as the Matrix start to become a little too close to home.
So given the fact that these technologies are improving exponentially, it is only a matter of time until we will be able to have truly personalised homes. Designed in any shape we want, with any internal decorations we desire, any view we desire and our own personal assistant that is always with us and never sleeps.
So the question is as the time approaches you can literally personalise your home however you want, what will your home look like.
