Very Smart Appliances in Microsoft eHome
Reuters | at | by Mike
Welcome to the home of the future -- at least the Microsoft version.
It has a front door that unlocks using biometrics instead of keys and a kitchen that reads recipes aloud, but no whiz-bang gadgetry in the bathroom. In fact there's no bathroom at all. At least not yet. Featuring technologies that are five to eight years away from being offered to the public, the prototype "Microsoft Home" at the company's Redmond, Washington, campus allows researchers to test concepts surrounding how people will use technology in their everyday lives in the future.
Visitors use a touch screen to ring the door "bell" and leave text or voice messages, while a smart card can provide access to a chute for leaving packages and mail in a secured area. After a resident enters, the computer system can set the lights, blinds, temperature, music and TV to the individual's preferences automatically or upon voice commands. The home computer system featured a female voice that sounded less personable than the cunning HAL spaceship computer from the film "2001: A Space Odyssey".