This Content Originally Released July 9, 2002
If you're not accustomed to carrying around your master DNA blueprint on a piece of jewelry that doubles as a house key-get ready to by the year 2012. It's one of the 10 advances in Home Comfort and Convenience being forecast by Battelle.
The results come from a survey of 48 Battelle technologists and business managers including representatives from the four national laboratories that Battelle manages and co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy.
Innovations are defined as major new advancements in technologies, products and services that will noticeably improve the quality of living at home. It also means major market penetration in advanced countries and product introduction in developing countries from now to the year 2012. Some of the products and services appearing below have already begun appearing in American and European markets.
"We've made great leaps in welcoming technology into our homes," said Steve Millett, Battelle Thought Leader and author of the forecast. " In fact, technology more and more is essential to our home comfort, a trend that will only accelerate over the next 10 years." The Top Ten Innovations in Home Comfort and Convenience 2012 are:
- Universal controls for home appliances. Consumers-even your grandparents-are now comfortable using hand-held wireless controls for locking and unlocking their cars, activating automatic garage doors and accessing their TVs. These devices will become more pervasive because of rapid advancements in microprocessors and wireless communications and will lead to a real "universal control." This is the remote control you'll hate losing the most, as its use will be expanded to include access to computers, lighting, heating and cooling. It may also be that a laptop or hand-held computer will become the universal control for all types of electronics and appliances in the home.
- Personalized health monitoring and care. Virtual house calls will become a reality as consumers demand quality health monitoring in the comfort, convenience and privacy of their own homes. Circulatory, heart or kidney testing will become as easy as home pregnancy tests. Transmit your results to your doctor via the Internet, who can then tell you what to do, or the doctor may elect to send a medical van with professionals to administer more complicated tests or remedies.
- Home environmental quality. An airtight home is good from an energy savings perspective, but it's not good from an indoor air quality perspective. Consumer demand will lead to improved ventilation along with the energy efficiency that airtight homes bring to homeowners. Indoor air quality will be greatly improved through advanced fans and filters that remove allergens from the air including outdoor pollens and indoor molds, pet dander and other particulates.
- Integration of the TV, telecommunications and computing. Homes of the future will have access to the most powerful of computers and the most complex of software programs-and often these will be miniaturized to fit into the smallest of electronic devices. This access will come through TVs, cable or satellite. Computers will be operating throughout the house. Handheld and laptop computers will be as common as telephones. Video telephoning will be done though various methods-TVs, computer screens, mobile telephones- and will become as common as telling time with watches and clocks.
- Voice recognition and activation. We've come a long way in optical recognition of text, which was very difficult and expensive thirty years ago. It's common today to see scanners, printers and copiers that have optical readers. The same trend will be true for voice recognition and activation. By 2012, security systems in cars and homes will be activated by your unique voice pattern. You'll be able to speak messages into a computer, which will translate voice patterns into digital text.
- Personalized energy. Miniaturized fuel cells will eclipse traditional batteries in providing long-lasting power for phones, computers and electronics. Miniaturized PEM fuel cells will significantly increase energy efficiency and density of storage. Heating, cooling and other major appliances could be run from fuel cell power or from the electrical grid. This will bring longer lasting power in greater quantities for electronics and appliances in the home.
- Environmentally friendly and sustainable materials. Some people hate the "new car" or "new house" smell that comes from carpets and construction materials synthetically made from chemicals. New, more economical, materials will be developed using naturally derived fibers, including genetically engineered trees, plants and crops. These new materials will be more environmentally friendly and acceptable to homeowners. These advancements are part of a long-term trend that favors materials from sustainable sources that can be replaced, unlike the derivatives from oil.
- Home Waste Treatment. As Americans become buried in our own waste we will see a backlash against the throwaway society that we have become. From consumer disposables to slash-and-burn fields created from forests, ours is a culture accustomed to throwing away anything and everything. This will change as municipalities continue restrictions on the content and amount of garbage collected. Homes will be required to pre-treat solid trash leading to, among other things, a new generation of trash compactors. Homes may also be required to pre-treat wastewater.
- Personalized identification and security. Personalized biochips are just being introduced to the marketplace today. Over the next 10 years, virtually everyone will carry their health and medical records with them, either as a piece of jewelry or as an implanted chip that will be easily read and understood. In addition to vital statistics, bio IDs will contain your individual DNA master blueprint to help identify people and their medical needs. The ID will also have uses including access to cars, homes and computers likely in conjunction with voice pattern recognition.
- Home zone temperature, humidity and lighting. If you like it meat-locker cool while you're bustling around the kitchen, but your spouse likes it toasty warm while watching TV in the den, new technology is going to help you. Today, HVAC systems heat and cool the entire house from one thermostat location. By 2012 we will see room-by-room heating and cooling for better comfort zones and more energy efficiency. Humidity controls will keep 30-50 percent relative humidity throughout the year. Zone lighting now common in commercial settings will become common in houses with sensors automatically turning lights on and off as you enter and leave the room.