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Disney Takes Another Stab at the House of the Future

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the near-future-this-time dept.

Disney has announced that they are going to take another stab at showing us the "House of the Future". The 5000-square-foot house will appear normal from the outside but will house gadgets like lights and thermostats that automatically adjust when someone enters the room and countertops that can identify food placed on it and suggest recipes. "Millions of Disneyland visitors lined up a half-century ago to catch a glimpse of the future: a home teeming with mind-blowing gadgets such as handsfree phones, wall-sized televisions, plastic chairs, and electric razors and toothbrushes. [...] The $15 million home is a collaboration of The Walt Disney Co., Microsoft Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., software maker LifeWare and homebuilder Taylor Morrison. Visitors will experience the look of tomorrow by watching Disney actors playing a family of four preparing for a trip to China."

5 of 277 comments (clear)

  1. Impossible Future? by drapeau06 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Shouldn't a "house of the future" be smaller than current houses? If they are to be available to all humans, I mean.

    Also, I still have hope that USians will start using the metric system someday... so overall, I'd suggest that a more sensible house of the future would be about 100 or 200 square metres.

  2. Re:Home of the future... by AvitarX · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What would be cool though is fridge that checks it´s contents and tells you recipes along with thigns you could make with just a little extra.

    It would solve the "there's nothing to make, but the fridge is full" dilemma.

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  3. our own little worlds by Statecraftsman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Much of the project will showcase a network that makes the house "smart" and follows family members from room to room - even adjusting artwork - to preset personal preferences.
    Does anyone get the feeling that we're all increasingly seeing what we want to see? Headphones and ipods mean we're less often exposed to the music of our parents, friends, and coworkers. We all go to our own favorite websites to check news(be it factual, entertaining, or agreeable) or socialize or whatever. We spend hours and hours in whole virtual worlds that are difficult to appreciate or explain without having spent those many hours there.

    While I think it would be awesome to see the art and decor transform depending on who walks into a room...this just highlights to me that we may become more disconnected from each other as we optimize the digital world to our own personal likes. Not that it's bad...maybe we were all meant to relate to each other through screens, keyboards, and mice. Maybe the benefit of the digital world is that it provides a better way to share experience when we choose. Either way, it's good to recognize what's going on.
  4. Re:Home of the future... by jedidiah · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Better yet, it keeps track of how long stuff has been in there or
    checks for chemical signs of spoilage. From this it can either tell
    you that it's time to clean things out or time for a "leftover casserole".

    "Warning: Jar on back of bottom shelf has not been touched in 123 days..."

    "The 6th Day" had a pretty good Future-Fridge.

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  5. Re:I would like to see... by hachete · · Score: 4, Interesting

    every gadget will have NO REPEAT NO lights, not even the smallest flicker. Even the damn mac has the green light on the power line. My epson printer has three, and one continually blinks.

    Profound changes must take place, and NO LIGHTS is one of them.

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    Patriotism is a virtue of the vicious