We, Robot?
Market forces could drive builders to apply technology to their home designs and construction practices.
Paul Saffo doesn’t think future home buyers will demand “technology,” per se. What they’ll be looking for are “things that touch and change their lives.” Saffo, a futurist who specializes in technology, observes that every decade ushers in adaptive technology, such as the microprocessors that sparked the personal computer revolution in the 1980s. He believes that the same thing is happening now and that smart sensors could, over the next decade, lead to greater use of robotics in the home.
For a housing industry that’s on “the lagging edge” of technology, says economist Harry Dent, robotics might seem a pipedream. Smart houses haven’t caught on, says Charlie Hewlett, a managing director with real estate consultancy Robert Charles Lesser & Co., since technology keeps changing faster than builders can assimilate it into their design and construction. But some futurists insist that it’s only a matter of time before automation and technology are more commonly used to help build homes and support homeowners’ lifestyles. The only caveat, says Dent, will be affordability.
But the demand for in-home technology should rise, say futurists, as more people work out of their houses. “Communication technologies helped return us to the home,” observes Dr. Jim Dator, a futurist who teaches at the University of Hawaii. Glen Hiemstra, the founder of Futurist.com, believes the work-at-home movement will pick-up steam as a younger, tech-savvy generation turns to home buying. He also believes advances in videoconferencing should make at-home work more cost effective. “Homes will have wireless networks, always-on Web connections, and screens everywhere,” predicts Frank Feather, a Canada-based futurist. “Builders need to pack as much digital technology into their homes as possible.”
Many futurists are convinced that the housing industry will eventually come around to seeing the advantages of modular construction. If that happens on a larger scale, Hiemstra thinks robotics could be useful for assembling basic structures and installing some electricals and plumbing. Saffo sees robots doing more things for homeowners, too, over the next few decades, including driving them around. Which raises a Philip K. Dick–like question for builders: In a world of robot cars, will houses need driveways?