Robots that will collect food, cook your meals and clean up afterwards; smart fridges that will recommend recipes based on predicted expiry dates, and walls that you can redesign at the click of a button are just a few of the pieces of home tech that we could come to use every day.
The UK’s leading built-to-rent company Get Living has conducted research into what Brits want to see in their homes of the future. Consulting leading futurologist Dr Ian Pearson, Get Living has envisaged how these will feature in its rental properties, to provide the smart homes that the public clearly desire.
The research unveiled that almost two thirds (61.4%) of Brits want to see more smart innovation in their home to help with daily life, citing the annoyance they feel with cleaning and tidying mess (44.5%), their lack of enjoyment in cooking (29.9%) and a bid to save time which could be invested in entertainment (30%), starting a new hobby (19.5%) or just spent with the people they live with (22.9%) as reasons for wanting to handover responsibilities to AI.
Get Living and Dr Pearson have developed plans for future innovations they believe will be possible in homes of the future, and respond to the hopes and desires the British public hold dearest:
Almost a third (32%) of the nation crave a robot that can do the cooking for you, with 29.9% citing that they simply don’t enjoy it. While Samsung is already exploring robotic cooking arms, Dr Pearson predicts we will favour a more humanoid robot that is less static. The cooking robot of the future will be able to move around our homes, collecting food from couriers, preparing, serving and tidying up afterwards. Kitchens with space for robot turning circles and easy-open cupboards and fridges will be key to making sure robots can be integrated easily.
With mirrors already part of the package in Get Living’s fully-furnished homes, the company is exploring tech upgrades – as asked for by the a third (33%) of the British public who would like a mirror in their home to diagnose sickness. Dr Pearson suggests smart mirrors will come in to their own when they show things not visible to the naked eye such as skin damage from sun exposure.
Brits love to mix around with their interior décor but issues around limited space and cost could stop them. Perhaps this is why over a third (35%) of Brits would welcome walls that can change design digitally to suit their moods and occasions at the touch of a button. Dr Pearson suggests that walls will essentially be screens in the future, with the most popular designs allowing residents the opportunity to go on holiday from the comfort of their own home or change the colour of the paintwork to create a whole new look using smart screen wall technology. Get Living already allows its residents the freedom to decorate and personalise their space so this would be a natural next step for the business.
A fridge that helps monitor your groceries and flags soon-to-expire items to reduce food waste is the dream for almost two fifths (38%) of the population, and Dr Pearson recommends that by assessing food using optics and cameras within the fridge, future fridges will be able to intelligently predict soon to expire food – without the need for Best Before Dates on packaging. Environmentally-friendly Brits will have recipes recommended using what they have left to cut down food waste and improve their carbon footprint.
By year 2040, flats will be able to flourish with healthy greenery, rather than wilting from neglect. Almost a third (30.6%) of Brits said they’d like their plants to look after themselves and Dr Pearson predicts the future will see in-home drones capable of watering plants as and when required. Get Living is already looking at drone-mapping its neighbourhoods and designing future schemes with daily drone deliveries (including people-passenger vehicles) in mind.
Christian Armstrong, Director of Brand, Product and Technology at Get Living said:“We are committed to giving our residents the very best living experience we can, from the homes and retailers on offer, to the events we hold. Part of this involves looking at how we can innovate and being progressive in our thinking. This includes far-ranging future gazing to make sure our homes and neighbourhoods will be fit for the technology of the future – from considering how we can cater for the predictions of Dr Pearson to zoning and creating space in our neighbourhoods for drones – to smaller ideas that we can do now which will make the rental experience just that bit better – including high quality Wi-Fi across our neighbourhoods to Google Assistant skills that make life for our communities easier.”
Recent innovations within Get Living neighbourhoods that have responded to current demands include:
