By Julie Clothier for CNN
Tuesday, May 31, 2005 Posted: 7:26 AM EDT (1126 GMT)
Picture this scenario: it is a Friday night in the middle of winter and you are driving to your holiday home in the mountains for the weekend.
On your way there, you send your second residence a text message, which will activate the heating, so the place is nice and warm by the time you arrive.
Your main residence, meanwhile, may be vacant, but you can send it an SMS to turn the lights on and off a few times, giving the impression to potential burglars someone is there.
You can also monitor what is happening inside the house on your cell phone -- cameras inside the house will send real-time images direct to your phone.
Then, disaster strikes, and the washing machine leaks while you are not there, but so clever is your house, it will automatically turn off the water at the mains, and alert you that a plumber may need calling.
Sound far-fetched? For one family of four, living just outside Barcelona, these are the capabilities their home already has, and the company that designed the house says many of us will be enjoying these features in as little as two years.
The anonymous family live in an Eneo Labs show home -- they act as voluntary guinea pigs to try out the company's smart home concept.
Eneo Labs general manager Javier Zamora told CNN that the company was constantly developing its smart home technology, which would become increasingly common in the future.
He said smart houses were able to predict the user's routine and adapt accordingly.
"For centuries we have been building homes using only concrete and bricks, and more and more we need to provide 'intelligence' for our homes because we want those spaces to adapt to the user's requirements," he said.
Zamora said smart houses had two main components: an "information network," which was like a human body's nervous system in that all devices inside the house would be connected to it; and a "brain," which co-ordinated what was inside the home and connected it to what went on outside.
"Somehow the house will learn from the user's daily routine. Basically, the brain is a computer that is in the wall of the home. It's listening and adapting to the routines we have," Zamora said.
He said everything in the home would be connected, so that, for example, instead of having five different remote controls, for five different appliances, only one would be needed.
Settings would be personalized for different family members so children would not be exposed to inappropriate material on television or the Internet.
Blinds and curtains would automatically open when it was time for the inhabitant to wake up, and coffee would be prepared when that person entered the kitchen.
Eventually, the home would respond to voice commands.
It would also be security-conscious and aware of its occupants' well being, monitoring whether someone has a fall, and control temperature and light settings, depending on what is happening outside.
So, an awning in the garden would automatically retract if it was windy or come out if it was hot, and garden sprinklers will not operate if it is already raining.
Zamora said being environmentally friendly was a key aspect of homes of the future.
"We need to be more conscious about how we use energy. We have this opportunity not to use more energy but to use energy in a more rational way."
A British family of four, meanwhile, is preparing to move into a high-tech house where they will spend the next six months being monitored in a Big Brother-style project.
The Parnell family will have their every move followed by researchers from the University of Nottingham, who are studying how modern families use and live in homes, Britain's Press Association reported.
The futuristic five-bedroom house, which is split over four levels, boasts a range of labor-saving gizmos and gadgets, including self-cleaning windows, an automatic shirt ironer, a laundry chute and phones which double as intercoms between rooms, PA said.
A team from the University of Nottingham's School of Built Environment will monitor exactly how long each family member spends in each room of the house and at what times of the day.
Construction firm David Wilson Homes, who built the house, hope the study will help them tailor houses to meet the needs of modern family life.
Panasonic BL-C10A Wired Network Camera
D-Link DCS-5300G Securicam Wireless Internet Security Camera
REVIEW DATE: 10.19.04
， Product: D-Link DCS-5300G Securicam Wireless Internet Security Camera
， Price: $549.99 list.
， Company: D-Link Systems Inc., www.dlink.com
This brand-new D-Link package is a standout. The camera has a high-quality image, smooth pan and tilt movements, and a speedy 802.11g connection for video streaming at up to 30 frames per second. Using the DCS-5300G with a wired connection to a router is simple (the camera has UPnP support, so you can easily mount it on your Windows ME or XP computer). Once it's connected, follow the instructions in the manual to set the camera for wireless use.
The package includes one camera, a mounting stand, an infrared remote, and the necessary software. There's also an AV cable, so that you can connect the camera to a TV and record to a VCR. The camera has an impressive range of motion, panning 270 degrees from side to side or 90 degrees up and down. It features a CCD sensor and a 4X digital zoom and can record audio as well as video.
Using a Web browser, you can quickly access the camera from inside or outside your home network. Most of the camera's controls are accessible online, which lets you aim the camera and zoom in on your subject remotely. You can set up motion-sensitive recording, e-mail alerts when the camera detects motion, and preset views that quickly focus on a specific area. There's no tool to help you get the camera working with an outside connection, though, so you'll need to open four ports in your router and change some settings in your firewall to get it to work.
The DCS-5300G comes with optional high-end software that lets you monitor 16 cameras at once; you'll feel like the commander of your own private surveillance company. All told, this package costs more than the others here, but if you want a well-built camera with a robust set of features, it's worth the price.
Requirements are a 1.76-GHz or better processor and 128MB of RAM. A 2.4-GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 32MB video card are recommended for using IP Surveillance software with multiple cameras
REVIEW DATE: 10.19.04
， Product: Panasonic BL-C10A Wired Network Camera
， Price: $199 list.
， Company: Matsushita Electric Corp. of America, www.panasonic.com
By Troy Dreier
The Panasonic BL-C10A Network Camera is a mixed bag. The camera shows excellent images, especially in low-light conditions, and it can be panned and tilted remotely through a browser connection. But on the downside, the BL-C10A doesn't work wirelessly or record audio.
Installing the camera is easy, but you'll need to supply your own Cat-5 cable (which isn't mentioned on the box). The BL-C10A works only with a physical connection to your router, so you can either use it close to the router or buy a long, long cable.
This camera provides an even better picture than the D-Link's. But the image is all you get, since the camera can't record audio. This is the only camera in the roundup with a Privacy button that you can press when you don't want to be recorded. It's also the only one that doesn't offer e-mail alerts.
The BL-C10A has decent pan and tilt abilities (100 degrees side to side and 50 degrees up and down). You can control this via a browser, but the camera doesn't have the D-Link camera's range, nor can it zoom in.
The software includes a simple wizard that helps you set up a browser connection and register for a free account at www.viewnetcam.com (a site owned by Panasonic), so you can monitor your camera online. The wizard configures your router for you, which means there's no messing around with ports?a nice plus. Browser-based controls let you create eight preset views (so that you can see them with one touch) and monitor up to 16 cameras at once on the multiview page.
Requirements are Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, or XP, and Internet Explorer 6.0 or later; a 100-Kbps Internet connection or better is recommended.