What You Can Learn from The Jetsons About Home Automation
Home automation is becoming an ever-increasing part of our daily lives with each passing year. In order to predict the future trends in home automation we can look to the past for some clues on where we’re going. The Jetsons was an animated sitcom created by Hanna-Barbera 50 years ago. It’s depiction of home automation technology probably sparked lots of today’s innovators to create what they saw on TV as children. Let’s look at with the Jetsons used in their home and then compare it to what’s on the home automation market today. Please keep in mind that this is just a snippet of what’s available.
Automated home cleaning robots
The Jetsons were blessed with Rosie, a robot who basically did everything. She cooked, she cleaned, and she took care of the children. While we may not have anything on the scale of a Rosie, there are some interesting robotic cleaning options available today.
iRobot Roomba is an automated vacuum cleaner that has been on the market for a few years. You can expect to pay around $700 for a top of the line iRobot Roomba, but it will clean any surface in the home, including under furniture, as well as spot cleaning extra dirty areas to ensure cleanliness. This little robotic vacuum cleaner is on a mission to cover every surface of a room before moving on.
Don’t worry about charging the batteries because this robot will find its way back to the charger on its own. It will thoroughly clean every room before moving onto the next. Eliminate allergy causing dust and dirt without lifting a finger. You simply turn it on and it does all the work for you, it even tells you when it’s full of dirt and ready to be emptied. This benefits those who splurge with this purchase because they never have to worry about vacuuming any surface of their home again.
Temperature control and lighting
If you’ve ever watched an episode of the Jetsons you’ve probably never noticed them turning off/on a light switch, or were caught messing with a clunky thermostat to get an optimal temperature. They either pushed a button to change sophisticated environmental features or everything was preset. The home environment in which the Jetsons lived was automatically controlled through systems, and today there are products on the market that are going in the same direction.
Nest is a smart thermostat that can sense when you’re awake or moving around in the home and adjust the temperature to your pre-desired settings automatically. This little device will run you about $250, but is able to make up that difference in saving you money on your monthly utilities after learning to optimally control your home environment. After about a week of learning your schedule Nest essentially becomes self controlling. Nest controls the thermostat the way it should be controlled, which actually require hundreds of adjustments everyday to be as effective and cost saving as possible. No matter how hard you try to keep your thermostat adjusted in such a way it’s too many changes to realistically do. Nest does the hard work for you.
When it comes to lighting there are smart products on the market nowadays too. Phillips sells smart bulbs under the label Hue. These connected lights are functional bulbs that can be programed and controlled to best suit any desired environment, like waking up, reading, or relaxing before bed. Hue has settings for all of these. Hue is sold exclusively through the Apple store and a starter pack of three bulbs will run you $200, which is a bit pricey for the luxury.
There are other controllable LED lighting products on the market which mimic Hue’s features and may be worth a closer look. LED technology uses approximately 1/6th of the energy of what traditional incandescent bulbs use, so like it or not the future of home lighting will be automated and non-incandescent. And as mentioned previously these bulbs have a full color spectrum so you don’t need to worry about spending money on florescence and not getting used to the colors produced. With these LED lights you can save money and have optimal lighting conditions.
Automatic meals
The Jetsons had it easy when it came to preparing, eating, and even cleaning up after meals. Whatever they wanted to eat was available on demand with the push of a button, and while they sat at the table an automatic fork or spoon actually shoveled everything into their mouths. When they cleaned up a hole in the table opened and the mess magically whizzed in. It was a truly automated process.
There’s nothing on the market that matches The Jetsons level of sophistication when it comes to meals, but there are products on the market today which are starting to mimic some of the food management concepts. LG has released the Smart Refrigerator at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) 2013. This refrigerator is designed to talk to your home Wi-Fi and other smart devices. It’s smart grid ready for the individuals who have that option in their area. A smart grid is simple, it is a way for an appliance to communicate with the “grid” and save money by not performing certain energy taxing functions at peak hours.
As food is purchased at the store and then placed inside, this refrigerator will inventory everything. It tracks expiration dates so you can keep up with making sure all your food gets eaten on time. It also syncs with your phone and can create mobile grocery lists on demand. No more guessing what’s in the fridge while you’re at the store, like trying to remember just how many eggs you still have. If you’re looking for some creative suggestions on what to eat for dinner based on your refrigerator contents, this will do just that. If you need ingredients for the recipes you want to make you will also get it on demand and have access to that information from anywhere.
Still a ways off
A truly automated home, where all of the systems and appliances communicate seamlessly with each other and work independently of human input, is still a dream on the horizon for ordinary citizens. The technology is definitely here, but consumers are slow to adopt new home automation processes. As the gadgets and gizmos get more airtime, and consumers understand how these products can benefit them, adoption rates will steadily increase over the coming years. Perhaps it begins with automating one part of your home, like a smart thermostat, and then the benefits are realized and expanded on. With all these new home automation toys, one can’t help but wonder how important good home insurance will be in the near future!
You’re reading What You Can Learn from The Jetsons About Home Automation originally posted on Freshome.
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Live from SXSW: catch our Leap Motion, Elon Musk and Al Gore liveblogs today!
Austin, Texas is loaded to the gills with geeks of every shape and size, and we’re here too! We’re parked at the city’s convention center for a day filled with A-list SXSW speakers, including Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX fame, former Vice President Al Gore and the ace team from Leap Motion. We’ll be liveblogging several events today, and bringing you hands-ons and interviews throughout the weekend and early next week. Head over to our event page for a full rundown of our SXSW posts, galleries and videos, and be sure to check out our liveblogs, kicking off with Leap Motion at 1:30PM ET, then followed by Elon Musk at 3:00PM ET and Al Gore at 4:30PM ET. Oh, and if you’re in Austin tonight, don’t forget to drop by our very first Engadget+gdgt Live event. We’ll see you there!
Filed under: Announcements
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Live from the ‘Connecting the Next Billions’ keynote with Stephen Elop, Gary Kovacs and more
Mozilla’s Gary Kovacs has been harping on this idea of connecting the next billion or so people to the internet all week — it’s the one of the driving philosophies behind Firefox OS. Nokia is looking to bring down the cost of entry to the mobile web with the 105 and 301. Then there’s operations like Qtel and Bharti Airtel, that provide cellular service across the developing world and in emerging markets. These companies are all looking to put the democratizing power of the web in the pockets of people across the globe and they’re all here at Mobile World Congress 2013 to discuss just how they plan to do that and why it’s so important. To find out what these CEOs, including Stephen Elop, Dr. Nasser Marafih (Qtel) and Sunil Mittal (Bharti Airtel) have to say, check back in at the time below.
Filed under: Nokia
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Chromebook Pixel review: another impractical marvel from Google
We’ve had a bit of a love / hate relationship with the Google Chromebook since the first one crossed our laps back in 2011 — the Samsung Series 5. We loved the concept, but hated the very limited functionality provided by your $500 investment. Since then, the series of barebones laptops has progressed, and so too has the barebones OS they run, leading to our current favorite of the bunch: the 2012 Samsung Chromebook.
In that laptop’s review, we concluded that “$249 seems like an appropriate price for this sort of device.” So, then, imagine our chagrin when Google unveiled a very similar sort of device, but one that comes with a premium. A very hefty premium. It’s a high-end, halo sort of product with incredible build quality, an incredible screen and an incredible price. Is a Chromebook that starts at more than five times the cost of its strongest competition even worth considering? Let’s do the math.
Gallery: Chromebook Pixel review
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Leave a commentNYT: Barnes & Noble may be moving away from Nook hardware
Barnes & Noble’s hardware division hasn’t exactly been glowing recently, and if one New York Times source is to be believed, it’ll take more than cute (and charitable) rhymes to keep investors happy. According to the NYT source, company executives want to shift from making Barnes & Noble branded hardware to licensing its content to other manufactures. “They are not completely getting out of the hardware business, but they are going to lean a lot more on the comprehensive digital catalog of content,” the paper was told. The source went on to explain that the company will emphasize this new strategy in its Q3 2013 fiscal report next week, committing to building deeper relationships with device makers like Samsung and Microsoft. The unnamed informant didn’t say which devices the bookseller planned to shelve, but we wouldn’t be too surprised to see the more expensive SKUs fall by the wayside. Either way, we’ll see the facts for themselves when the company posts its earnings next week.
Source: New York Times
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Tizen 2.0 SDK and source code emerge from alpha, bring slew of new features
Sure, an early version of Tizen 2.0 Magnolia may have first emerged last September, but now the SDK and source code have dropped the “alpha” designation for a proper release. After a few months of incubation, the open source OS has been laden with enhanced support for HTML5 and a beefed up Web UI framework that enables full-screen and multi-window features. Developers can now leverage new hardware APIs for Bluetooth and NFC support, and access a device’s call history, calendar and messaging “subsystems.” Support for background applications, text-to-speech and IP Push have also made it into the operating system along with reference applications including the likes of a calendar, gallery and phone app. In addition, a native IDE and a spruced up web development environment have been released with the latest code. Hit the source link for the full skinny and appropriate downloads.
[Image credit: Tizen Project, Flickr]
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile
Source: Tizen
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Happy Valentines Day from Galore Magazine!
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Prince + Jacob shoot Andrea Astoria and Caroline Pires wearing a selection of pieces from Fredrick’s of Hollywood in a kinky Valentine’s day celebration for Galore Magazine.
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Design Bloggers Reveal Their Top Picks from Imm Cologne 2013
Todd Vendituoli: “Now if you know me at all you know I love coffee in every size shape and form. I’ve seen this Miele Generation 6000 coffee system and would love to be able to have one someday. I particularly like the “CupSensor” technology that allows the spout to automatically move up and down until it reaches the optimum distance between the spout and the cup or glass eliminating the problem of spluttering and splashes. I could do a whole write up about its great features, stylish look and how it would beautify any kitchen but I keep getting stuck on the images of me going downstairs and saying- ‘I think I’ll have an espresso now!’ - staring at it while my perfect espresso is made right there at home.”
Todd Vendituoli has been a builder for almost 30 years and now works in the field of social media. He is the founder and author of HomeCentrl. Follow Todd on Twitter @TALV58
Brandon Smith: “We here in California embrace wood like a bunch of hippies. But parking a giant slab of walnut next to our Benz’es has always been the dilemma. Others have done it but Riva 1920 has perfected the art blending the raw attributes of a slab of Mother Nature’s finest with the contemporary “look at me I’m shiny” aesthetics we’ve come to love in our McMansions. The base, a delight in chrome, evokes the rock like formations of a US state park whilst the resin enhanced top surface ensures a comfortable setting for all of your guests – not just those you like.”
Brandon Smith is the founder of d.coop, a boutique spatial design and development firm in San Diego, California. His blog D.Scoop is home to his witty musing about all things design and interiors. Follow Brandon on Twitter @dcoopsd.
Michele Alfano: “My top pick from the imm cologne show is Clouds, an innovative, beautiful and sculptural tile solution for your home, designed by brothers Erwan and Ronan Bouroullec. I was drawn to its dynamic capabilities. You can infinitely dream up different free-form shapes and functions: they can hang from the ceiling, grow from the floor up to the ceiling, become spatial dividers, act as soundproofing, cover windows and walls, create pods or hideouts, etc……the ideas for your home are limitless.
You can keep adding and adding new elements so it’s constantly evolving. I love that tinge of surprise!! The tiles are made out of durable Kvadrat fabric and connect by rubber bands making it easy to install. Clouds are available in 2 Kvadrat fabrics and 11 color combinations.”
Michele Alfano is an architect and designer with over 18 years’ experience in the industry and is the creative founder of Mod Design Guru. She also writes the popular blog of the same name
Sarah Sarna: “One of my favorite pieces from imm cologne was Küppersbusch‘s Floating Island Hood. The hood’s design is so sleek and compact that at first glance I thought it was a glossy white glass chandelier. It’s that beautiful. In lieu of a hood that raises and lowers with a button, this almost invisibly suspended hood provides an architectural, illuminating element above an island cooktop. I find it so streamlined and chic.”
Sarah Sarna is an Interior Designer in New York with over a decade of experience designing residential interiors. She’s the founder of Sarah Sarna Interior Design and author of the blog Live The Life You Dream About. Follow Sarah on Twitter @SarahSarna
Were any of you at imm cologne? If you were we’d love to know what your top pick of the show was so please leave us a comment. If you didn’t make it there please tell us which of the bloggers’ picks is your favorite. And don’t forget to follow these guys on Twitter and stop by their blogs if you haven’t already. They know their stuff too!
You’re reading Design Bloggers Reveal Their Top Picks from Imm Cologne 2013 originally posted on Freshome.
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What Influences Color from the Runway to the Living Room
It was once believed that what graced the runways of Milan, New York and Paris would take about 6 years to influence home decor trends.
Styles, patterns and colors would leave the runway, appear on pages of the fashionable glossy magazines and then end up in our closets. People’s home fashions would never directly reflect the fashions that they wore. In recent years the world of interiors has seen about a 2 year lag from runway to living room.
Now that gap seems to be closing in at a much faster rate, according to Gretchen Aubuchon Editor in Chief of Fashion + Decor. ”Style your home…Style yourself. Fashion + Decor takes fashions from the latest runways and pairs them with a match in home decor. Fashion + Decor is the largest and the only online tool that inspires readers to bring their personal style out of the closet and into every single room of the home.” Aubuchon believes that “The social media drive seems to be bringing the creative minds and the creative worlds together.”
Image via Fashion + Decor
We’ve been hearing alot lately about Pantone in the worlds of design and social media.
You may have seen and read alot about The Color of the Year on Twitter, on Facebook as well as across a myriad of design blogs. So what, exactly does this mean? Pantone has been a leader in color for both home and fashion. For 40 years Pantone has reflected the worlds of politics, art, media, fashion and music. From the avocado green of the 1970s to the Emerald green chosen as today’s color choice, Pantone understands that color illustates and highlights our memories of days past and punctuates the memories that are being created today.
This is not to say, however, that Pantone alone drives the color choices seen on runways and furniture showrooms.
According to Aubuchon, many those have already been in the planning for several seasons. Currently, we know not only what’s hot in the Spring 2013 lines, but we are getting glimpses of the Pre-Fall 2013 lines. So while most furniture makers know which pieces will be featured at High Point Market his fall, there’s still time to add some emerald to the mix, maybe even a few will try to toss some into the Spring market in April.
High Point is highly influencial, it’s where one goes to find the earliest look at emerging trends at the High Point Market, the legendary design destination. There are many factors involved in determining what will become the newest styles and trends and smart manufacturers will, however, rush to create a few smaller pieces to offer in their lines for the next season. Aubuchon describes the difference between a style and a trend is that “styles have staying power, while trends come and go. Trends can, however, turn into styles.”
Where Pantone is truly influential, is introducing color, not to the designers, but to the general public.
These Color of the Year choices influence our decisions as consumers on how we want to dress and decorate and furnish our homes. Interior designers then go in search of certain select items of these colors or within varying shades of these colors for their clients. This is a perfect example of social media’s influence on both the fashion and the home-front. When Pantone announced that Emerald 17-5642 was the 2013 color choice of the year, social media in all forms, from blogs to Twitter to Facebook, shared this information almost immediately. Pantone says that Emerald Green is “Lively.
Radiant. Lush… A color of elegance and beauty that enhances our sense of well-being.” Suddenly images of bright green graced and infiltrated our computer screens. This shared information, in real time, has more influence on the general consumer than a glossy fashion or decor magazine who, at time of press is completing issues for publication several months into the future. When the print publications get the word out and start featuring all things in Emerald, the news will be old news.
We all seemed to develop an immediate Orange Crush when Pantone declared Tangerine Tango as it’s color of the year.
Bursts of happiness infiltrated our homes, from paint color to accent pieces such as cushions, throws and pillows, to accessories such as dishes and lamps. Small kitchen appliances too would embrace these colors, as would the pages of popular home decor catalogues such as Pottery Barn. Again, the bloggers and social media experts had much bearing on the quick spread of this popular color. Orange seems not to be going out of style anytime soon and this trend could very well have staying power.
Color trends also include varying shades of the featured colors
This includes more subdued, bolder and brighter alternatives. So while Emerald Green may be the color of the year, we will see many shades and varying forms of the color green infiltrate our wardrobes and home decor.
Classic colors are here to stay.
Aubuchon states that while we are seeing a resurgence of bright and vibrant colors on the runway, and predicts that we will see “color, color and more color” on the runways this fall there will always be a place for the beiges, blacks and greys. ”They’re not going anywhere. They’re staples in our homes and in our closets.” Furthermore she adds that an all black wardrobe or a grey room is here to stay.” Aubuchon says the best advice she can give is to be true to who you are, how you live and your style. Don’t go out and buy an emerald green blouse or rug if your personality is more blue and beige.
You’re reading What Influences Color from the Runway to the Living Room originally posted on Freshome.
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There is something so serene from this series: A room from above…
There is something so serene from this series: A room from above by Photographer Menno Aden. See the rest here.
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