What happens when the home of the future crashes?

This morning I was interviewed on the Mornings TV program about the future of homes, based on an interesting interactive infographic of how our homes may change over the next 15 years.

Click on the image below to watch a video of the segment.


Over the years I have done work for clients on the future of homes and received media coverage for issues including our relationships with our homes and how homes will nurture and protect us.

In today’s program there was plenty to talk about on the predictions of new technologies in the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, and living room.

However at the end of the interview the question came up of what happens when the technology doesn’t work?

This is a point that was addressed in my report for Intel Security on Safeguarding the Future of Digital Australia in 2025.

For all the wonders of what technology can do for us, we need to be sure not to become dependent on it.

A very pointed example is digital locks. They may be secure, but if there is any system failure, we may not be able to get into our own homes.

There are many issues that need to be addressed, not least backup plans that function even if there is no electricity or an operating system failure, as well as contingencies for systems malfunctioning.

Good design can certainly address these issues and provide us with security and control even if technology malfunctions. However we need to recognize that good design is not always prevalent, or built-in to all components of the systems we build.

As technology moves to the heart of every aspect of our lives, we need to be sure that we maintain full control, even when our beautiful home of the future crashes.