Technology is a rapid market, it changes and improves (hopefully) every year. You only have to look back 10 years at where mobile phones used to be, and it makes you wonder where we will be in another 10 years. Self driving cars is the current trend, even though it’s early days and there has been the odd crash (oops) but what else will there be in the future? Robots with human rights? Click here for that story!
Plusnet, the award-winning Yorkshire-based communications provider, has gathered expert predictions to forecast the UK’s home of the future.
Plusnet wanted to identify other technological home innovations the British public could expect to see in 30 years’ time. Sales of virtual assistants and smart speakers boomed in 2017 and market analyst Canalys expects the global smart speaker market to double in 2018 to more than 50 million units1.
Experts in the technology, health, and housing industries were asked what trends they believe will be part of the average UK residence in 2050. Working with artists at Muti, the award-winning illustration studio in South Africa, Plusnet can reveal the future of the British home.
Health technology featured heavily in futurologist predictions, which included 3D body scan scales, health-supporting smart fridges, and solar panel windows that could make energy bills a thing of the past. Between 2014 and 2017, the number of virtual reality patents increased ten-fold2. This led to our experts expecting a virtual reality ‘wellness room’ to become a part of the home, offering guided meditation in any environment imaginable.
Experts predicted that the Home of the Future will also include:
- Virtual reality wallpaper and décor, customisable for different situations
- Holographic phone (goodbye video calling)
- Robot arms prepping all meals (Michellin star meals without any work – yes please)
- Self-heating and self-making bed (this is my dream)
- Body-scanning scales to report on your health
- Virtual reality room for exercise, mediating or just to take a short trip to a beautiful island without leaving your home…
Paul Goodinson, Digital Transformation Manager at Plusnet, comments: “It’s great to see the future we have to look forward to is a healthy one. Smart speakers may be the newest pieces of tech to transform our home lives, but they haven’t reached their potential just yet. Preparing our food for us and even helping us pick our outfits for the day are just a couple of the features we can look forward to in the future.
“It seems virtual assistants are going to be a staple of the home for years to come.”
1 Info taken from: https://www.canalys.com/newsroom/smart-speakers-are-fastest-growing-consumer-tech-shipments-surpass-50-million-2018
2 Info taken from: https://www.wilsongunn.com/who-we-are/news/2018/01/30/the-patent-landscape-in-the-world-of-virtual-reality/
