Future Trends

FUTURE TRENDS One day in the not-too-distant future, we will be living in an automated world that will make human life simpler. The Next-Generation home will be equipped in such a way that almost anything from lights to appliances will be control by telephone, infrared, voice, and remotely. The Next-Generation home will be wired to handle these simple tasks as well as controlling the thermostat on the heating/air system. Just by picking up a phone, you will be able to turn the exterior and interior lights on and off, operate the motorized blinds, lock and unlock the front door, and open and close the garage door. This is all possible through the emerging technologies in broadband, Wi-Fi, and fiber optics. According to Dr. John O. Limb, a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar and director of the Broadband Telecommunications Center at Georgia Tech: "Within 10 years, we believe that a majority of homes in the United States ware going to be equipped with broadband communication pipelines connecting to a host of available services." (Goolrick, 2006). Besides broadband, fiber optics is another tangible that will have an impact on the average consumer and their home. New homes are already being wired with directly to optic fibers, which will take data transmission rates from 50 thousand bits per second to hundreds of millions of bits pr second. With this type of increase in transmission rates, the scope of fiber optics in the home becomes enormous. In the fiber optic home of the future you will have the capability of watching your favorite program from any number of different views. You will be able to play 3D games with your friend on the other side of the world. You could take a cooking class in real time from a teacher in Vienna. A virtual salesman can show you a car and all of its gadgets, answer your questions and even give you a virtual test-drive (Fiber Optics, 2006). AS we look further into the Next-Generation home we will find a network of

References: Electro/Telecom Industry (2006). Building Next-Generation Home Automation. Retrieved August 24, 2006, from http://www.Electronics.ihs.com/newsletters/elec-v-212-02.jsp Electro/Telecom Industry (2006). The Networked Home. Retrieved August 24, 2006, from http://www.Electronics.ihs.com/newsletters/elec-v-212-03.jsp The Future of Telecommunications (2006). Fiber Optics: Creating A Bright Future For Us All. Retrieved August 24, 2006, from http://Tycotelecom.com/aboutus/futuretelecom.asap# Goolrick, F. (2006). The Home of the Future. Retrieved August 24, 2006, from http://Gtvesearchnews.gatech.edu/reshor/rh-spr98/B-band.html