Your home has some magic tricks up is sleeves, Spanish style

A Spanish family of four is already living more than two years in to the future. This family is currently the guinea pig for eNeo Labs’ show home located on the outskirts of Barcelona, Spain.

What makes a smart home

This Spanish company aims to show us what it’s like to be living in a home already equipped with full intelligence capabilities. Apparently, the company’s aim was to move beyond the brick-and-mortar establishments we call ‘home’ and add a new dimension – intelligence – into the mix. ‘Intelligent’ Homes should be able to adapt the living space to the household’s needs, predict inhabitants’ routines and then adapt accordingly!

The physiology of a smart home can be likened to that of the smartest machine of all – our own bodies. The ‘brain’ of the home is like a control center, where observed and collected information about inhabitants’ habits, schedules and needs is coordinated to goings-on outside the home. The second component of a smart home is an ‘information network’ – sort of like the body’s nervous system, where commands from the brain are carried out by diverging devices.

The Connected home

• Instead of fumbling for the wrong remote control every time, everything in the home can be connected so that  only one universal remote will be needed to control every device.

• If you’re away from home but need a security blanket, you can use your cell phone to monitor everything that’s going on inside the house through installed cameras which send you real-time videos and images.

• A simple text message can help you activate your home’s heating or cooling system in advance, so you never have to come back to a home that’s either freezing or sweltering hot!

• Send your house an SMS the next time you’re away, to remind it to turn the lights on and off periodically to ward off potential burglars by giving the impression that there’re people in your home.