A house that anticipates the needs of its inhabitants, how to prepare coffee when it knows you’ve woken up or how to organize the kitchen according to its intended use. This is how they have imagined in the Canary Islands the intelligent house with AI resources that has been inaugurated in the Elder Museum of Science and Technology in the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The house is small but modern, measuring 50 square meters. But this size has been enough to install multiple mechanical, electronic, software, robotic, hydraulic and artificial intelligence devices with the aim of facilitating the lives of the people who live inside, in addition to caring for the environment through the promotion of energy efficiency.
The great novelty of this house is the integration of robotics with artificial intelligence, which translates into better coverage of household chores. When he gets up in the morning, he prepares the coffee and toast. If the time to go to sleep approaches, prepare the bed and also measure different parameters during sleep, such as body temperature. And it also adapts the light and temperature to the activity being carried out.
In the kitchen, everything is also planned. There is a system that raises or lowers the appliances on the counter depending on whether they are going to be used or not, which makes it easy to adapt the space according to needs. In the museum they have placed a robot with an articulated arm in the kitchen that has been designed to interact with people. It can carry up to five kilos and has abilities such as opening a lock with a key or serving drinks, among others. You can even create more robots like it and thus work collaboratively. He also has the ability to organize the fridge based on what’s inside and goes to the point of recommending recipes with the ingredients that are there.
All the elements in this smart home have been built in the same museum thanks to a 3D printer. Some are as curious as a toilet that measures urine quality, a bed that analyzes sleep quality, and even a robotic pet with integrated video surveillance. The floor is also smart: if it notices that there is a fall, it notifies the emergency services. In addition, there is the possibility of directly giving an order with your voice so that the house can execute it.
The project has taken a year and a half to complete and has had a cost of 300,000 euros. From the Government of the Canary Islands they hope that this future niche will create more jobs, not only in relation to the home, but that these advances can also be applied to the tourism sector or serve as great support for people with disabilities. It is the first museum in Europe to dedicate a space to a smart home.
At the moment, the flagship products that make a home smarter are speakers with virtual assistants or smart bulbs that can be controlled with your mobile phone. On YouTube you can find a number of videos that explain how to make a home automation, a term that refers to the set of systems and technologies that can be integrated into a home. Awnings, blinds, heating, lighting or energy expenditure are some of the parameters that can now be controlled from a mobile device. One factor that is taken into account when designing these homes is efficiency.
There are companies that are specialized in the implementation of home automation and the KNX awards are in charge of recognizing the best intelligent housing and building projects. Regarding the latter, the first one that has been built in Spain is in the 22@ technological district of Barcelona. Through the app of this building, ‘Smart’, you can search for a parking space, book tickets for an exhibition and prepare food before taking a break.
