A house for adults will return the future to Disneyland.
What does a modern teenager dream about when entering his room?
Perhaps, first of all, about the most sophisticated computer and game console. What does a modern adult dream about?
A fully automated house that serves only as «entertainment» that could be enjoyed after a hard day's work.
This is the kind of illusion for adults that is being revived in the famous Disneyland amusement park in California. Millions of visitors to Walt Disney World will soon see the «House of the Future» again.
Either an attraction or an exhibition complex will open after half a century of «nonexistence».
The new building will once again contain everything (at least from a technical point of view) that will fill the home of an average earthling in the next five to ten years.
The previous «House of the Future», made entirely of plastic, was opened to the public in 1957.
It already had speakerphones, wall-sized TVs (almost) and electric toothbrushes. However, over time, this «attraction» stopped generating income. And a decade later, it was closed.
Over the past half century, various countries and companies have repeatedly attempted to create something similar.
By the way, Walt Disney did not stand still either.
He came up with a utopian project of an entire city of the future with the unpleasant abbreviation EPCOT, but, unfortunately, he was never able to implement it. Now the Walt Disney Corporation has announced the imminent opening of a new building, which will be located on the territory of Tomorrowland (literally «Land of Tomorrow») – one of the nine themed parts of the Disneyland amusement park in Anaheim.
In collaboration with giants such as Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard, Walt Disney is creating a building with an area of almost 500 square meters.
The project also involves software developer LifeWare and American construction company Taylor Morrison.
The new «attraction» will cost the corporation $15 million. Inside there are two bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, and an office.
There will also be a backyard.
It is not yet clear what the building will be like. It may look like an ordinary house made of wood and steel (Taylor Morrison is talking about a beige-brown «warm» color scheme). But it is known for sure that inside the «smart home» will be equipped with a variety of technology and detectors that «adapt» the house to its owner.
Let's imagine this picture: one of the family members enters the room, and immediately the lamps, thermostats and even the pictures on the walls automatically switch to the preferences of this person.
The kitchen tabletop with a touch screen will automatically determine what products are placed on it and offer a probable menu.
In a dressing room or bedroom, a closet will tell you what clothes are currently in the dry cleaners or in the wash, and mirrors will help you choose clothes for a party.
In the office, music, photos and videos can be copied to a computer in another room or displayed on a TV screen with one click of the mouse.
And a «smart» tabletop will then copy them to a cell phone, which you just need to place on the table.
In the living room, the music will turn off and the lights will slowly go out if a person picks up the TV remote and starts watching a movie.
A family of four will be played by specially selected actors.
Visitors to the «House of the Future» will actively participate in the lives of the owners.
By the way, a similar experiment with a real family was conducted in an equally interesting project in the UK.
According to the legend, the family is preparing for a trip to China for the World Cup, in which their son will participate. The owners, periodically moving from room to room, will contact different guests.
Show them the equipment, demonstrating both its entertainment and working functions.
Unfortunately, nothing is said about how environmentally friendly the new house will be, because people will probably care about this no less than about filling their home with various ultra-modern devices.
However, who said that it is necessary to take care of absolutely everything and think through all the details?
After all, all this is just a fantasy!
The «House of the Future» will not become an advertising stand for this or that product, — says Dave Miller, director of development for Walt Disney Parks.
According to Cynthia King, dean of California State University at Fullerton, it will be more of an «adult fantasy»: «Walt Disney always considered himself a man of the future and always loved innovations, which he enjoyed showing to the public.
It was not difficult for him to invent his own world, even if it was a world of the future.»