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In Tom Cruise's 2002 box-office hit, Minority Report, we saw a world where human thought was transferable and interchangeable with computer programs: a near seamless integration between man and machine.

Although the movie is science fiction, these concepts are fast becoming reality. Over the next decade, the internet will become increasingly integrated in our homes, with electronic appliances becoming proactive rather than reactive additions to our lives.

With the rise of wearable tech' and internet connectivity slowly integrating into all home appliances such as TVs, it is becoming clear that the internet goes far beyond the computer and the phone.

Google's recent purchase of home technology company Nest highlights that the internet's greatest potential is not in the advancement of computers, but in the very real possibility that it will integrate into every aspect of our lives.

Imagine living in a home which acted in synchronicity with your biology as an artificially intelligent aid, gauging your body temperature and adjusting the heat accordingly, measuring the mineral and vitamin content of your blood and ordering the products that your body needs to remain in good health. Or to warn you that your immune system is low whilst providing you with advice on how to counteract. Some tech elements I believe we can expect to see integrated into properties over the coming years include:

Wi-Fi Lighting

On a simplistic level, lights will dim if they detect that you are asleep and flash if you are getting a phone call or if someone is outside the door. You will be also awoken to gradual light which will ensure that your sleep cycles remain normal. Phillips is the first to market such a product with the release of the Phillips Hue.

Wi-Fi Sleeping

Mattresses are equipped with motion sensors, measuring your levels of movement while you sleep. This technology debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show this year and could revolutionise the way we think about sleep.

When we are in our lightest sleeping patterns, we move around a lot and become restless. The motion sensors will allow you to be woken when you are in your lightest phase of sleep - ensuring that you wake up fresh and ready to go. This mattress will then be able to notify other appliances via Wi-Fi that you have awoken and turn on the coffee machine and download the morning's edition of Estate Agent Today onto an e-reader.

Such ideas - already in the early stages of development - are available for Android users with applications such as Android Sleep, measuring your levels of movement at night and waking you when you are in the lightest cycle of sleep.

Wi-Fi Security

Doors and gates will no longer need keys as technological advances such as the 'wireless cloud smart lock' increase in sophistication. When developed to maximum potential, this system should allow you to unlock your door automatically when you touch the handle, recognising a registered user is trying to enter the premises. With the inevitable digitisation of money too, checking for your keys and wallet when leaving your house in the morning will become a thing of the past.

Innovations like these are already appearing in the homes of the elite, but sooner or later the pricing of smart home technologies will become affordable to the masses. These changes will be gradual, however, in the coming decades most appliances in our homes, and indeed elements of our home itself, will be smart' - customisable and constantly adapting to our every habit, desire and need.

In the future, we may be valuing homes not just on their location and cosmetic appearance but also on their technology. Meanwhile, the way we buy and sell a home could be as futuristic as the home itself. With the advent of wearable computers such as Google Glass, apps that allow people to measure properties, take 3D photographs or augment reality to layer different furnishings, paint colours and finishes on top of what they are viewing could become commonplace. The possibilities are endless, and I believe this will change the property sector for the better.

*Faisal Butt is Co-founder and Managing Director of Hamilton Bradshaw Real Estate, a venture capital firm he founded with James Caan to invest in entrepreneurs with property related ventures. He's a former winner of Shell Livewire's "Young Entrepreneur of the Year", a recipient of the much-acclaimed Skoll Scholarship, and holds an MBA with Distinction from Oxford University. Follow him on twitter at @FaisalButt_.

Comments

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    Great article Faisal. If you are ever in Fitzrovia do come and say hello to us in the Smart App-artment in Windmill Street. It's the UK's first experience centre where home-owners can road-test the latest home automation kit before specifying technology for their own homes. The showroom is dressed as a fully-working house and everything from lights to the coffee machine is controlled via an iPad. Love to show you - or any readers - around. Ruth. www.cornflake.co.uk

    • 30 May 2014 09:39 AM
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