On
Tuesday nights, Dan Quigley's house pipes a not-so-subtle snippet from
The Coasters tune "Yakety Yak" over the speakers in his son Richard's
room: "Take out the papers and the trash." From the networked PC in the
utility closet, the house monitors the back door to see if it opens,
says Quigley, founder of Premise Systems, a Redmond, Wash. company that
helps people make their homes smarter. "If it doesn't, the system sends
[an E-mail] reminder at 6 the next morning," he says.
Like
the TV and the telephone (stories, Pages 52 and 56), the house is
getting an Internet-based upgrade. By plugging a house's heating and
cooling, electrical, and security systems into a computer and the
Internet, tech-savvy homeowners are giving the once static shelter a
mind of its own. Worried that you left the lights on? Call your house
with your cellphone and turn them off. Need to let a friend into your
house but can't leave the office? Open the front door over the Internet
and watch who enters via a webcam. In the near future, smart houses
could also be fitted with smart appliances. Researchers are now at work
on closets and refrigerators that would match information from the Web
with your personal data to advise you on daily dilemmas such as what to
wear or what to cook.
Smart
houses have been slow to catch on. Homeowners have been daunted by
costs that could run to thousands of dollars for nothing more than
remote-controlled lighting and by the know-how needed to set up these
systems. "The problem has been that it takes too much time to save you
time," says Glover Ferguson, chief scientist at the Accenture consulting
firm, which has built prototype intelligent wardrobes and medicine
cabinets. But companies ranging from Whirlpool to Motorola are betting
that more homeowners will soon become converts. The Internet, affordable
home computer networks, and wireless systems are making the technology
simpler and smarter, and vendors like GM's OnStar and Sears are trying
to ease the setup by offering standard packages. Already estimated to be
a $1.1 billion industry, the home automation market could climb to $3
billion by 2005 as more companies jump in, according to the Allied
Business Intelligence research group in Oyster Bay, N.Y.
Phone home.
Automating a house's infrastructure allows a central PC to adjust the
thermostat, set or disarm security systems, turn lights on or off, and
perform other functions on a preprogrammed schedule. Add motion sensors,
and a smart house can also tailor these functions to the level of
activity in a room. Set up properly, an automated home can save energy
by turning off gadgets when you leave for work in the morning, yet greet
you with the perfect temperature, lighting, and your favorite song when
you return. And by logging in to a secure Web page, you can control
these functions wherever you are.
Near
Detroit, GM's OnStar at Home pilot program has already automated a
handful of houses, allowing owners to use the Web to "find out if an
errant baseball went through your window or if someone is really
breaking in," says Tony Barra, head of the Internet Home Alliance, which
coordinates the service. The home system incorporates the same
voice-recognition technology as the OnStar systems found in
top-of-the-line GM car models. It allows homeowners to send one- or
two-word voice commands from a car equipped with the OnStar service or
from any phone. Returning from a summer vacation, a driver can dial up
OnStar, say "home" to trigger a preprogrammed thermostat setting, and
return to a frosty air-conditioned house without wasting energy for
weeks.
Do it yourself.
OnStar plans to expand the test to 100 homes before deciding whether
the service should be marketed widely, says Barra. Sears, which has
partnered with Morrisville, N.C.-based Home Director Inc., has started
to offer a similar Connected Home package, with less-extensive
voice-command control, to new-home builders in Atlanta and Denver.
Prices range from $1,500 to $4,000, or about 1 percent of the cost of
the home.
For
those who merely want to smarten up a few things around the house, an
affordable option is open to anyone with a little bit of tech savvy. X10
is a communications language that lets home systems and appliances
network with each other via wireless signals or a house's electric power
lines. In general, users plug the device they want to control, such as a
lamp or a coffee maker, into an X10 module, available from companies
including X10 Wireless Technology--the people behind those annoying Web
pop-up ads. The module plugs into the wall. The device can then
communicate with a PC that has its own X10 connector. By logging on to a
special Web page, you can access your PC to control the lights or
appliance remotely, or, as the ads promise, monitor your front door with
an X10 webcam.
Beyond
its adaptability, the X10 system is affordable, with starter sets
available for $50 and expansion modules for as little as $13 apiece. But
it also has significant problems. The radio frequency at which the
devices communicate often travels farther than it should. As a result,
neighbors using the gadgets can trigger one another's devices
inadvertently. More worrisome, the wide-ranging signals from the
wireless X10 cameras offer a peek inside your house to anyone who wants
to hack the signal.
The
fixes for these problems--changing frequencies or adding
encryption--hint at the barriers slowing home automation from becoming a
mainstream hit. "You have to be a bit of a geek to make it happen right
now," says Ferguson. "But once a few more companies come together, it's
going to take off very quickly."
This house thinks of everything
It's
not at the level of The Jetsons, but the Internet and gains in PC-based
home networks are helping people make their houses smarter. Typically,
an Internet-linked PC monitors and controls infrastructure including
heating and cooling, lighting, and security along with appliances and
gadgets. Here are some of the smart-home features available now and in
the near future.
TALKING TO THE WALLS
An
owner can check in remotely by communicating with his home PC or a
home-automation company's server, via the Web or voice commands.
Personal digital assistant
Wireless or landline phone
Laptop
GARAGE
Call from the road to check that the garage door is closed. One system, from GM, lets you use your car to command your home.
LIVING ROOM
Smart windows change tint on command, eliminating shades and blinds. Need music? The stereo zaps music to wherever you are.
KITCHEN
This prototype fridge tracks the expiration date of products inside and can reorder from an online grocer. No more bad milk!
FRONT DOOR
Knock,
knock! A motion-sensitive webcam sends a peek of who's at the door to a
PC or PDA, and the intercom calls your cellphone. Buzz your visitors in
remotely.
BATHROOM
Wondering
about a prescription's side effects? This prototype medicine cabinet
can check on the Web. It also uses face recognition to make sure you
don't take someone else's pills.
BEDROOM
Dress
smarter with this prototype closet, which checks an Internet weather
site and your PDA schedule to suggest what you should wear.
GATEWAY
Your
home PC is the boss of your house, controlling thermostat, lights,
security system, and other gadgets according to a schedule you set or
commands you send in.
DIAGRAM: This house thinks of everything
~~~~~~~~
By Kenneth Terrell.
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