It is the stuff of science fiction: house lights, ovens, televisions and even security systems that can all be remotely operated and controlled at the touch of a button.
But now a new type of smart technology from mobile phone maker Nokia looks set to turn that fantasy into a reality.
The Home Control Center, which will go on sale at the end of next year, will mean British consumers are one step closer to living in "networked homes", where everyday systems and devices are connected to the internet, allowing the home owner to monitor and activate them remotely using their mobile phone.
Nokia's platform will run the open-source Linux operating system, meaning that third-party manufacturers that make fridges and televisions, will be able to build compatible technology into their devices at minimal cost. The Home Control Center will enable other smart-home solutions to be connected together, and provide users with a single, consistent way of controlling all their gadgets.
The system will initially be used to help people control heating in their home. Nokia has signed an agreement with energy company RWE to work on building compatible systems that can be operated remotely by mobile phone or through a computer.
In future, however, it's likely that many more systems will be able to connect up to the Home Control Center, giving users the chance to measure their electricity usage, preheat an oven before they arrive home, and adjust the temperature of their house.
While Nokia acknowledges that so-called "smart home" technology has been available for years, it argues that the biggest barrier to mainstream adoption is pulling all of the systems together.
"Building blocks for an intelligent house are readily available in the market. Putting it all together is, however, like trying to build a house from blocks that do not fit with each other," said the company. "There are smart refrigerators, energy-saving washing machines, heating systems that can adjust the room temperature with one-celcius-accuracy, security systems with touchpanels, low-energy walls, programmable thermostats, self-adjusting curtains, configurable set-top boxes, self-operating yard lights and much more.
"The problem is all these systems are separate and you end up having a dozen remote controllers and miles of cables in the living room.
"Nokia’s aim is to integrate state-of-the-art solutions from each area to the framework so that the systems can be controlled via mobile device. This provides the systems with remote access via the same user interface regardless if you use a mobile phone, web browser or an internet tablet, also enabling the different home systems to talk to each other."
Smart homes are already a feature in countries such as South Korea, where some modern buildings use fingerprint access, rather than conventional keys, to gain access, and many devices within the home are connected to super-fast broadband internet.
It is not yet known how much the Nokia Home Control Center will cost when it goes on sale towards the end of 2009.
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