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South Korea's Home of the Future
An anonymous reader writes to mention a BBC article, looking at South Korea's vision of the home of the future. Their vision includes the use of many recent advances in interface technology, networking, and wireless communication. The difference? Unlike the high-tech demo homes we've discussed in the past, 100 of these units have already been built. Another 30,000 high-tech flats are in the planning stages, to be completed by 2008. From the article: "Here, everything is voice activated, and the fridge can provide you with recipes which use the ingredients inside, and let you know if your food is out of date. It relies on the food packaging containing radio tags, or RFID labels, which can be read by the fridge each time it passes through the door. In the bedroom your wardrobe mirror can tell you your schedule for the day, help you select your clothes — if all your clothes have washable radio tags compatible with the system — and keep you up to date with the weather and traffic."
and it must have made the cover of this month's Popular Science.
or maybe it's like HDTV and after YEARS (decades) of being heralded, it might finally be coming. still overhyped IMHO....
i disable sigs
Does it have a fallout shelter?
Won't someone please think of little 3yo Sebastion? Imagine what all those radio waves will do to his thin skull!
What changed under Obama? Nothing Good
Can you play starcraft in it? Useless to Koreans if you can't!
...the bomb shelter?
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To say, I welcome my Korean Automated self cleaning, schedule telling, my cloths will not get me laid today overlords.
"Don't Forget to Salt the Fries"
One that doesn't require two people working 60 hours per week to purchase. One that has a yard wider than 10ft. Really, does anybody other the wealthy even care about a high tech house?
Complete with microphones and video cameras in your television sets!
It's a bunker built into the side of a mountain. Designed to be a very energy efficient dweling, with its own air and power supplies. There is a weapons pod with SAMs and the center point of the structure is the state of the art control center running rock-solid Microsoft Vista controlling 5 large video projectors with world views, views of S. and N. Korea, and a view of the projected fallout based on models generated by Microsoft (classified TS).
Does it have a large enough garage for my flying car?
Unfortunately the article didn't give an estimate of the price for one of these hi-tech homes. Would the average (or even the techie) find the incremental cost worth it? I doubt it. We now have much of this technology available to us in the U.S., but few people choose to buy it. The only big difference is that the hi-tech "flats" are being sold as a package deal, instead of the buyer needing to request the upgrades.
How much would such a home be worth to you? Would you pay the $50-100K or so that the extra features would likely cost? Considering the only way that my fridge would know that my yogurt is spoiled is if I told the fridge I just bought yogurt, it doesn't seem like that big of a convenience (who wants to type in everything you buy into a console on the fridge?). Also, do you really need fashion advice from a hi-tech mirror? I don't trust my own fashion sense, so I'm certainly not going to trust a computer's. My wife suits me just perfectly in that capacity.
Huh? Don't mind me, I'm just the new guy.
the automatic toilet? Everyone knows thats the ultimate in modern convenience in asia.
"Fridge, list available meals."
"State ingredient search depth"
"Fridge, Level 5, 'hard-up-on-cash' level"
"Computing..."
"1 meal found"
"Fridge, show meals"
"Cheese. End of meal list."
Task Mangler
Need I say more..
Who else can listen in on all this data?
High technology is superficially attractive when you sort of think about it... I mean a fridge that tells me recipies! Wow! And my toaster keeps me up to date on the traffic conditions! WOOOW! And my mirror will help me pick out an outfit! WWOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!! But then when you REALLY think about it, it's not even useful. I don't know about anybody else but my daily gettin' goin' routine is pretty simple to begin with. The TV gives me the news, the fridge holds my food, and I choose an outfit based on what's actually clean at the monent. How in the hell is a computer going to streamline an already extremely basic routine? It seems to me it's just technology for the sake of technology. A voice activated oven is pretty useless. If you're gonna be hoisting a 30 pound turkey into an oven it doesn't seem too far fetched to activate it manually.
The only practicality I can see to this junk is for the disabled. Or rich toffs who need to brag to their friends about how their house nearly burned down because they watched a porno movie within earshot of their computerised grease fryer.
I don't own a snook, and if I did I wouldn't leave it cocked.
Gee, with this level of automation with RFID tags, how can I get one implanted? I would love to be able to do what I want but I'm not automated enough!!
the mirror says 'are you going to wear that?'
the fridge says 'another beer? why do you drink so much? how about a nice glass of milk?'
Does it run Linux?
"The Most Fun Possible on 4 wheels" is at SunBuggy in Las Vegas
Suicide Booth?
Why do they always describe this sort of technology as "smart" and then throw in the stupidest features imaginable? I can't imagine anyone being helped by a mirror that dispenses fashion advice. It's just there because they had the technology to make it possible, but not the common sense to resist making something flashy and worthless.
...Is there anything half as ambitious as this in these United States of America? I doubt, sadly.
South Korea is moving home?
That's a lot of cardboard boxes. Time to get stocks in the paper industry, I think.
When the posters fear their moderators, there is tyranny; when the moderators fears the posters, there is liberty.
Parents won't allow their kids in their closet, washrooms, OR schools in England if those zany, unpredictable radio waves are going everywhere!
lowmileageengines.com
hehe, sweet.
What makes it a home of the future? It used to be that the home of the future didn't involve the gadgets but the way it's built. Homes of the future used to be made of plastic, garbage cans, heat trapping foam, composite polymer windows. They were made robotically using polymer spray guns. By using advanced construction they were going to end homelessness and reduce energy consumption.
Now the BBC has declared a collection of gadgets that's bigger than the collection of gadgets you already have as a "home of the future". It could be a bunch of gadgets in an apartment, a bunch of gadgets in a car, a bunch of gadgets in a pocket, but since a large government has taxed for it and created a huge program for it, it's now called a "home of the future".
Me: Honey, where's the plunger? The toilet is clogged and won't flush.
Toilet: Flushing.
Me: Shit.
Toilet: That's your job.
Fridge, serve cheese!
"Please specify brand."
Red Leicester?
"Out of Red Leicester."
Tilsit?
"Computing..."
"Out of Tilsit. Tilsit will be delivered next week."
Four ounces of Caerphilly?
"Out of Caerphilly. Has been ordered."
Well then, Bel Paese?
"Out of Bel Paese. Sorry."
etc.
Do not trust this signature.
It's all data, no action. You can query the 'fridge, but you can't order food and have it show up in the fridge. Combine Webvan with a pass-through refrigerator the delivery service can access, and you'd have something. Maybe even within-building robotic delivery, which would work for apartment blocks.
There's no automated cleaning. iRobot's Roomba vacuum is a joke, but there are units around $2000 that almost work. Get those into production. An apartment that cleans itself while you're out would actually be useful.
The computer-in-the-fridge thing and the control-via-power-outlet thing have been done to death over the last decade. They're just not that useful.
The big thing in building control today is Demand Control Ventilation. Instead of thermostats, you have little sensor boxes that sense temperature, humidity, CO2, CO, and air pressure. Crunching on that data, the HVAC system works to maintain a comfortable environment at minimum cost. When CO2 is no higher than outdoor ambient, the room is empty and airflow can be cut way down. When the number of people in the room increases, the higher CO2, temperature, and humidity readings cause the HVAC system to be cranked up accordingly. Of course, you also have a sensor at the outside air intake, so the system knows when to use outside air and when to recirculate. There's also the little trick of watching the air pressure as the fan speed changes. If the indoor air pressure doesn't change with fan speed, there's a door or window open, and the HVAC system shouldn't try too hard to fight that.
Fridge: ...
Me: Well?
Fridge: Uh, nothing was found that involves a two-month old can of moldy pork-and-beans.
They say the first thing to go is your penis. Well, it's either that or your brain. I forget which...
What's wrong with both?
Since when is South Korea moving...?
I don't consider these human-assisting technologies "for the future." Here are more important criteria than that: (1) being energy efficient (electricity and heat), and (2) being environment friendly (allow natural vegetation to grow around it especially in an urban setting, adapting to the landscape rather than adapt landscape to it).
I once had a signature.
most of this stuff is already being done in the US. mainly using Crestron or AMX. There are large multi million dollar apartments going up (not to mention houses) that are completely controable and/or automated. The only issue is finding a controlable device for all sub-systems, though almost every sub-system has a controlable device. It is scary that HomeNet is being used though. arg.
The gadgets should be less intrusive. If you need a TV in front of the can, then I'm pretty sure that you are spending too much time on the can. The most electronics I need in a bathroom are a clock and in the interest of energy conservation, maybe some temperature limiter and flow limiter for the shower so I'm not wasting too much hot water. Some people might like a radio in the bathroom, but that's hardly high tech.
A refrigerator that tells me what I have is a bit much, that's just plain lazy, though I will admit that sometimes a small item is behind a large item and I just don't see it.
And call it North Korea's home of the future.
Sorry to hear you're had... extraordinarily bad luck. You're in my prayers friend.
lowmileageengines.com
Apart from the fact that I can decide what to wear and what to eat today myself, thank you, there is a thing about this house that really worries me. Computers are power hogs. I read somewhere that all the efforts Great Britain has done to reduce its CO2 output in recent years will be nullified when digital TV is in every home in Great Britain. Imagine how many extra power plants must be built in South Korea to keep these houses powered. Not good for the global environment.
-- Cheers!
100% of Internet banking in S. Korea is using IE and Windows specific ActiveX. If you live in S. Korea and use Iternet banking, you have to pay Microsoft Tax, because you have to use Microsoft Windows. In fact, with respect to Linux penetration, the country is in the Stone Age. S. Korea, Japan and China speak a lot about creating theis own Linux distro. I am reading this for 2-3 years. This is rediculous, because no result was shown. Obviously they are using this card to extort lower prices from MS, but they have no serious intention to promote Linux in the Government.
And the future house should be mainly with green garden, clean air, no traffic congestion. Electronics is not that important.
I'd hope so, because North Korea's vision of the South Korean home of the future is a smouldering, radioactive hole in the ground.
Push Button, Receive Bacon
Does SK's home of the future include machine gun sentries for security? No way anyone's takin the good stuff outta my high-tech fridge!
It's interesting that you bitch about how there's no job for an "overqualified", brilliant, talented person like yourself who is obviously smarter than the rest of the world, when just a couple months ago you posted about the "excellent propects" you had lined up in programming, and having a job in a call center. In a past post you also provided suggestions about "being successful in business" and how to act professionally. You told us how companies should interview people and evaluate employees and then complained about incompetent HR staff. This is rather ironic coming from a complacent bum on food stamps. My suggestion to you, my friend, is to log off Slashdot and go find yourself a damned job.
For apartment blocks, you just need a Beowulf of that!
To gadget-tastic for my tastes. I'll take the Dilbert House over this any day. (Assuming that I must live in suburbia. Anyone know of a DUH-like project for city dwellers)
-Grey
Silver Clipboard: Time Management Tips
I agree. Given possible future concerns about energy prices then a house that is energy efficient and uses less energy (e.g. energy efficient gadgets and only ones that really add to quality of life) might be a better target.
It's my experience that, unless your fridge is really knackered, food will survive a good week or so beyond the manufacturer's date stamp. And some foods -- the versions of French cheeses that you get in British supermarkets spring to mind -- aren't edible until that date!
Milk is interesting. It goes through a stage where you can taste that it's just starting to go on the turn but it's fine in tea; then a bit later it's no good in tea but OK in coffee. Then it starts to separate into watery and fatty parts. How's a fridge going to know all the subtle stages?
I've even seen expiry dates on eggs! Surely everyone knows how to tell whether an egg is fresh; you place it in a jug of water. If it sinks, it's safe; if it floats, it's foul; and if it stands upright, use it up right away. Also, I think sticking a printer up a chicken's bottom is just cruel.
Je fume. Tu fumes. Nous fûmes!
Uuh, I don't need such a sophisticated "home". All I want is a place that ... ... is far away from any major highway ... is on a road that doesn't appear on any maps ... is in the middle of a forest property ... can not be seen from public land ... has a big fireplace ... has two huge dry and cool cellars, one only I know about ... is marked as off limits, privileged just like all other hideouts of the US Elite.
I just hope I don't have to repeat three times everything to my fridge as I have to with my cellphone.
On the other hand, did they hire Kevin for that clothing/dressing software?
This looks more like a bunch of gadgets thrown together. I imagine the home of the future to be responsive to the enviromnental and security needs of the occupiers. Doors automatically open and close when you approach, if there isn't someone in that room that desires privacy. The house warns you if there is a window open affecting the efficiency of the heating system. The house learns your arrival times and heats the house just before you are likely to turn up. LED lighting adjusts the mood lighting, for example vibrant colours when you are having a shower to go out but cool soothing colours when having a relaxing bath on the weekend. Music should also match the mood (time of day, looking at your online calendar to see what you have planned, etc), fades out when you are due to sleep and fades in when due to wake. It should order my groceries and pay my bills. It should SMS the cleaner a random access code only valid for the hours she is supposed to be working, and pay her automatically afterwards. I could go on and on... The list would include little of the gimmicks mentioned in the article though.
:-(. Other items are already here, such as cheap ethernet switches, MythTV, affordable plasma screens, VoIP with asterisk, and more I can't wait to integrate all together.
For my new flat, I have had to scale down drastically my plans due to so little decent home automation stuff being out there. It's either based on the reportedly unreliable X10, or a mess of expensive and incompatible properietary systems. Also I'm not overly fond of this trend to everything being wireless, I prefer hard-wired for reliability. I've designed the computer controlled socket and low-voltage lighting systems but not being off-the-shelf is probably going to be detrimental to the resale value of the flat
Phillip.
Property for sale in Nice, France
Well, ok, so all it does is do stuff I can do myself in the same amount of time. It's also likely that having a fridge telling me what it "needs," and clothes with RFID tags (what happens if you toss cold clothes in with hots?), this will take even longer. What I need is a home that can dust, vacuum and mop for itself. Along with cooking nearly any meal I can come up with. Also, must clean toilet and get rid of those weird stains in the bathtub and sink.
Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997
sometimes a small item is behind a large item and I just don't see it.
You, sir, need a wife to nag^H^H^Hremind you to move the milk when you're looking for stuff. That would also take care of your bare bathroom issue.
... a well-dressed Slashdotter is coming to a place near YOU!
A wardrobe that can tell you what to wear. Ingenious!
Now we just need an invention to get people here to leave their basem^Whomes. For other purposes than real-world RPGs.
Well, have you ever considered teaching? You've got the perfect attitude for it.