You may already have a smart phone, loaded up with ringtones, email, cameras, and all the latest apps for every purpose. But do you have a smart home?
You may already have a smart phone, loaded up with ringtones, email, cameras, and all the latest apps for every purpose. But do you have a smart home?
Your humble abode is probably a bit behind the times when it comes to tech wizardry, but researchers at Washington State University are looking at ways to electronically enhance houses to provide homeowners with added convenience, and to provide support to people with senility or other cognitive problems, enabling them to live safely on their own. Using an advanced computer system called Cassas, the homes will be able to track a person’s day-to-day activities, and give them audio or video prompts if something goes off course. For example, if you’re cooking up your morning eggs and forget to turn off the burner after you’ve finished making breakfast, the Cassas system will recognize the problem and call you back to the stove to show you the error of your ways.
These aren’t the first high-tech homes to be invented, but other so-called “smart homes” need to be programmed to recognize the homeowner’s habits, while the Cassas system will pick them up on its own, and will even be able to distinguish between different members of the household. To avoid giving the homes the feel of a 24-hour surveillance 7-11, the Cassas system doesn’t rely on cameras to recognize resident activity, but instead uses more subtle sensors that detect motion, change in temperature, door contact, and other subtle variables.
While the system isn’t quite sophisticated enough to actually make your breakfast for you, it can give you peace of mind that you’re not going to burn the house down—which could be more valuable than all the iPhone apps in the world.