Technologies like robotics, 3D printing and artificial intelligence are poised to reshape where we live in the coming years.
DailyMail.com spoke to futurists about how our homes will change by 2050 and then used AI art generator Midjourney to bring their predictions to life.
Augmented Reality can beam a ‘holographic’ Gordon Ramsay in your kitchen, to offer cooking tips while you fire up the induction hob.
Every surface of the house can be turned into a touchscreen that runs different tasks, walls can become windows on demand and your house can double as a food-growing farm.
Augmented reality can put a virtual chef in your kitchen, talking you through meal plans. Those who love the tough love learning style can choose Gordon Ramsay’s hologram
Future homes will be designed with materials that can withstand a warmer world
Any surface can become a screen that performs specific home operations
Walls, floors and ceilings can transform themselves in response to voice commands, with nanotechnology making walls solid or translucent or even a giant TV screen.
Humanoid androids will take care of the whole home – the first models are coming to the market today, thanks to Tesla and companies like 1X, but by 2050, experts predict that they will be able to cook, clean and even childcare.
Augmented reality will fundamentally change entertainment, says Ian Silvera, editor of Future News, ‘AR-enabled wearables can also bring the home, its fixtures and devices to life.’
‘A hologram of Gordon Ramsay teaching you to cook or JRR Tolkien narrating his own books in your bedroom (thanks to AI and AR technology) could arrive sooner than you think,’ says said Silvera.
Future homes will be equipped with entertainment ‘pods’ so people can have privacy while they enjoy their own entertainment
The homes will be divided into ‘stream’ and ‘non-stream’ zones
Silvera also believes that future homes will be equipped with entertainment ‘pods’ so that people can have privacy while they enjoy their own entertainment.
‘As we continue to live in the smartphone and streaming era, our media consumption practices have changed dramatically compared to the TV age, where a centralized location in the home (the TV set) concentrated people on a place for entertainment purposes,’ said Silvera .
‘Streaming pods are popular in the workplace,’ he says, ‘and are readily available at home.’
Architects may also want to consider stream and non-stream zones in their designs to make the home a more harmonious environment, while internet-enabled devices mean that screens (with micro LEDs at the forefront of technology) can adorn any home wall and fit seamlessly into interiors.’
Mike Ralphs, Head of Digital Technology at tech-centric rental homes operator Quintain Living said the walls in the home of the future could change their appearance with a touch or a voice command.
‘Using nanotechnology and AR, surfaces can display different colors, textures, or even project images to personalize the home,’ says Ralphs.
‘They can also serve as interactive screens for virtual communication or information display.’
Nanotech and AI will help walls become windows or TV screens (Midjourney)
Future living is predicted to be more crowded as the whole family will live in the same space
Homes will be able to reconfigure themselves at the push of a button
Other predictions of futuristic homes are less optimistic. The report Futurology: the new home in 2050 of the NHBC Foundation suggests for example that future lifestyles may be more crowded.
The report also suggests that increasing numbers of elderly and young people who cannot leave home means that multi-generational living will become more common.
Ralphs believes that modular construction techniques will help future buildings and suburbs adapt to demand – with ‘shifting’ floor patterns that adapt to meet demand.
He said, ‘The increasing prevalence of modular construction techniques allows for faster and more sustainable creation of rental homes and the ability for buildings to adapt to changes in how residents live.’
‘For example, modular apartment buildings allow the floor configuration to change from, for example, many one-bedroom houses to fewer 4-bedroom houses in line with the needs of the resident.’
Ralphs also believes that advanced renewable energy technologies such as energy-harvesting materials integrated into the building structure and solar panels could mean that the homes of the future will be very efficient contributors of power on the grid.
Advanced renewable energy technologies such as energy-harvesting materials integrated into the building structure and solar panels could mean that the homes of the future will be very efficient contributors of power to the grid.
Growing your own food will become more common and done indoors
Artificial intelligence will be present throughout the home of the future, Ralphs believes.
‘By 2050, AI assistants will anticipate residents’ needs and manage energy consumption,’ he said.
‘Voice commands and gesture recognition will replace traditional switches and buttons, and homes will have personalized AI systems to help with everyday tasks.’
The home of the future will also be filled with plants and leaves, and can grow food, says Rebecca Armstrong, Managing Director at Making Energy Greener.
‘Solar panels will become solar roof tiles,’ Armstrong said.
‘Innovative solar windows will harness sunlight to generate electricity, turning windows into energy-producing assets and maximizing the energy efficiency of our homes.’
‘This will all be done intelligently through a smart system or can be voice activated, so, for example, we’ll say: “Jarvis, it’s a bit cold, can you turn the temperature up” – and Jarvis will.’
