Overcome inhibitions

On first sight, nothing spectacular can be seen within the house although it is packed with electronic components. "We have chosen this design very consciously", explains Daniel Steiner (40), who is living in the Futurelife house with his wife Ursi (42) and the two adopted children Grace (13) and Carlo (6) since 26 November 2000. "Futurelife's raison d'être is the testing and presenting of technologies, which are really functional and facilitate people's lives," says Daniel Steiner . There are no little robot dogs and other fancy gimmicks in the house. "Many visitors are not only coming with expectations, but also with inhibitions. In order to overcome these inhibitions, we would like to present the technology of tomorrow without any show", Daniel Steiner explains.

This technology facilitates live from dusk until dawn. Not all the opportunities are everybody's favourites within the family: Ursi Steiner resigns in view of the automatic temperature regulation in the shower. She hardly ever uses the saved data profile of preferred water temperature. "Sometimes I like the water a bit cooler, sometimes more hot, that depends," says Ursi Steiner. But the automatic door opening system of the front door is something she would not want to miss. "It is very practical, if you do not have to find the key first and neither have to put down the flower pot you have just purchased, in order to enter the house". A sensor recognises the chip in her wristwatch, opens and locks the door automatically. Grace, the daughter, is carrying the chip as `jewellery' around her neck. Daniel carries it in his trousers and Carlo as a toy. If a family member forgets his or her electronic key, the biometric lock-system opens the door via fingerprint.

Complex network

In every household an average of 20 appliances with a built-in chip can be found. Only few of the options of these appliances can be used, because they are talking different languages and are not able to communicate with each other. The appliances and installations in Futurelife are networked in a unique way. Most of them can be operated easily via computer, from the mobile phone, or even from the car - a research vehicle of BMW.

Communication in all directions

The chaos of having a bunch of different remote controls belongs to the past. Futurelife has one central control system, not a tool but a software based on Internet technology.

The physical remote control can be done from the computer in the office, from the touch screen in the kitchen or one of the portable web pads. The handling is very easy. The graphical user interface is always the same: on the schematical display, the single levels of the house can be selected. Each appliance, every light switch, and every plug can be operated via touch screen. The children prefer the portable web pads, which enable them to surf the Internet no matter where they are. In addition, they can play a wide range of games with the web pads. Sometimes, Daniel Steiner browses the latest news with his web pad when he is already in bed.

The (wo)man-machine communication is reciprocal: no more waiting at the washing machine in the basement until the spin cycle is over. The washing machine sends an SMS as soon as the laundry is clean. Furthermore, the washing machine communicates with the dishwasher and the dryer in order to work with the least possible and cheapest possible energy. As soon as the energy market in Switzerland will be liberalised, the appliances will automatically choose the cheapest provider. For manufacturers options like these mean totally new service scenarios. Networked appliances would report errors automatically to the manufacturer. Software updates could be loaded via Internet, and service staff would never again bring the wrong spare parts.

Saving time and money

Online-shopping saves Ursi Steiner four to five hours a week. The bulk buying for the weekend does not belong to Ursi's life any more. Ursi buys all regularly needed goods, from pasta to cleaning supplies, via Internet. Directly from her kitchen she orders the required items either by choosing them from the choice of Internet shops or by scanning the barcode of a specific item. Nobody needs to be at home when the delivery person brings the ordered goods. The delivery person of the supermarket receives a code via SMS which grants access to the Skybox, something like an oversized letterbox with integrated fridge and freezer located at the outside of the house but accessible from the inside as well for emptying the box. "Today, I have much more time for fun shopping", explains Ursi Steiner. In case she is tempted too much and time gets tight, the programmed oven might be due to finish the prepared dish a bit too early. However, this is no problem for her: Ursi contacts the oven from the car and delays the starting time. The intelligent oven, at the same time cooker and convection oven, is also a big help if the Steiners have unannounced visitors for lunch. The oven suggests dishes, calculates amounts of ingredients for any number of guests, creates a shopping list and calculates the cooking time.

Integrated energy saving

In the network an environment-friendly system is integrated. The dishwasher, for example, measures the dirt particles of the water and optimises the programme with the goal to save time, energy, and water, no matter if the machine is half-empty or full. The heat-pump-driven dryer consumes only half the energy of a conventional dryer. The sun provides hot water via the collectors and electricity in the photovoltaic cells. Solar energy provides energy for warming the floor heating in wintertime. This can be reversed in summertime, providing the Steiners with a nice and cool floor.

According to the weather conditions, the windows open and close automatically constantly providing fresh air and an optimum ventilation.

Materials like a shower cabin made from PET and fittings made from chrome steel are environmentally friendly beyond their span of life, because they are fully recyclable or easily disposable.

Individual set control

Another advantage of the network is the capability to be able to compose sets with different parameters via the Bus system. With one single command on the touch screen in the kitchen, either from the computer in the office or, mostly, from one of the mobile web-terminals, a number of processes are initiated. If a member of the family enters, for example, the command `TV', the blinds are automatically lowered, the curtains close, the lights are dimmed, and a data projector is lowered from the ceiling and projects a picture on the wall across the room.

Futurelife is connected to the network via optical-fibre cables, enabling broadband Internet access and high data rates. The Steiners are always online: even when they watch TV, they can have, in parallel, a smaller window with Web sites open on the TV screen.

If the Steiners go on vacation, their neighbours would hardly notice if the family wishes so. The house has saved the behaviour patterns of the family in the preceding 30 days and simulates the presence of the family, including all activities like switching on and off the light or opening and closing the window shades.

Tests in daily life instead of labs

Futurelife is not the only model house, but it is unique compared to other projects in Germany, the UK, or Italy, because it is an inhabited intelligent house. The Steiners are not only testing the appliances for their functioning, but also for their usability in daily life, thus probing their value to the customer. Their experiences are being documented. The Steiners provide input for improvements, enhancements of the new appliances or prototypes to the manufacturers. Futurelife is a vision factory, which is based on user tests not in labs but in daily life. The approach of this project allows target-oriented and market-driven statements. In this respect, Futurelife rewards the partner companies in a very direct way for their involvement.

Further information on the Futurelife project is available at www.futurelife.ch