The House of Tomorrow

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With the British Government moving ahead with programs that will introduce driverless cars to our roads (they’ve promised a full review of current legislation, including the Highway Code, by 2017), it seems that the future is well and truly here. This makes it as good a time as any to take a look at all the bright, shiny things that will be ushering our homes into the chrome plated future.



NINJA SPHERE
Similar to the Neeo (but with a much cooler name), the Ninja Sphere allows you to control most of your home’s smart devices with very little effort indeed. You can easily control devices including WiFi lightbulbs, connected power sockets, Sonos media centres, plant monitors and more. Sphere is also built on an open architecture software platform, which means that when a new device comes out, members of the Ninja Sphere community will quickly add compatibility, which should future proof your home for some time to come. Neat!




NEEO
Remember those really unpleasant universal remotes that became popular in the 90s? Well they’re back. But this time they’ve had a hell of a makeover and now look like they could have come from one of the designer’s desks over at Apple. Described as ‘the thinking remote’, Neeo is designed to help you manage and control everything inside your always on, smart home of the future. The device comes in two parts: the brain, which communicates with your devices (desktop computers, wireless audio systems, digitally controlled thermostats, TVs, etc) and the remote, which allows you to control the whole lot with one beautifully designed handheld device. Featuring hand recognition and a crystal clear display, you can also locate the device using the SOS alarm on your phone, so you’ll never lose it again. Cool.




COOLBOX
Whether you go for the jars of screws in the garden shed, or a meticulously organised – but rarely used – toolbox under the stairs, every home needs a quiver of tools for those moments when you’re too embarrassed to call a professional in, and the CoolBox is here to make the whole thing a little less stressful. Along with all the usual compartments you’d expect with any self respecting toolbox, the Cool’ also packs an internal battery, a retractable 12 foot extension cable, wheels, a USB port and speakers, and a tablet stand, for those moments when you’re using those awesome YouTube tutorials.




LUNA BED
You monitor you runs, your food intake and your home’s energy and water, so why not your sleep? Luna is a mattress cover that essentially turns your bed in to a smart computer. Slip it over your existing mattress and you can then intelligently manage the temperature of your bed, track your sleep patterns and integrate everything with your smart home. The dual zone technology allows you to select different temperatures for different areas of the bed, which could solve countless problems! And when you do fall into a climate controlled slumber, you can easily monitor your sleep patterns, heart rate and breathing rate, without having to wear any kind of uncomfortable device. And then there’s the smart alarm, which wakes you at the perfect moment in your sleep cycle so you are more likely to avoid those groggy mornings. And yes, the whole thing can be controlled with your phone.