Like Tesla, My Apartment Has An Insane Button

I live in a prefabricated ultra high tech modular apartment designed around a central computer core with sensors integrated into each and every room.

When I approach my front door, it automatically unlocks upon recognizing me, the lighting adjusts based upon input from my wearable device that tracks my heart rate and senses my mood, and the temperature for each room is constantly regulated to maximize comfort while unoccupied rooms hibernate. All meals are recommended based upon my daily exercise routine and currently available ingredients within the pantry and refrigerator.

My apartment constantly monitors my calendar and plays music to enhance each part of my day. It also keeps me safe by monitoring access and regularly checking crime reports in the neighborhood to provide me with guidance.

My apartment monitors my sleep and adjusts lighting and ambient noise as needed throughout the night to ensure the most restful sleep and wakes me in the morning between REM cycles.

When I wake, my apartment automatically brews coffee, heats up my breakfast, and recommends the best time for me to head to the office based upon weather and traffic reports. It also communicates with my wearable tech to monitor my health and insists that I visit the doctor if it detects a fever or excessive coughing or sneezing. My apartment even makes the appointment and transmits my health data in advance of my visit.

My apartment is equipped with a delivery dock to accept drone-based deliveries. It is self-healing. If a pipe breaks or an appliance needs service, my apartment places the service request before I get home from work.

I can ask my apartment about anything. My apartment utilizes available information on the Internet to respond. It is almost always right. It is always right…

New features are constantly arriving each day via firmware updates. My apartment is more amazing each day. My apartment is magic. My apartment doesn’t exist… or does it.

Ok, so I don’t live in a prefabricated ultra high tech apartment module, and probably won’t in the near future; but many of the features presented do exist in some form today and should be considered for inclusion in any new development.

With the advent of low cost sensors and increasingly fast processors, it’s now possible to gather data, process it, and intelligently automate our environment in real time, with real effect and most property developers are taking notice with plans to offer next generation integrated systems that go above the standard to establish competitive advantage.

Startups like Nest (now owned by Google) have made the thermostat notable by equipping it with features like remote monitoring and occupancy sensors to engage the heating or cooling only when needed. Amazon’s Echo is like Siri for your home; ask it a question and it will use readily available Internet data to respond. Intelligent security solutions from FrontPoint Security have integrated cameras, glass break and door contact sensors to keep you and your valuables safe. Phillips Hue lighting can be controlled via iPad and supports up to 16 million light color options that are fully programmable. Even the cable television and Internet Giants like Verizon and Comcast are offering automation packages on top of normal service, and the list goes on and on.

With all of these automation technologies and an ever-increasing number of players in the mix, builders that successfully package and integrate the best solutions into an experience for the property owner will certainly garner the most attention. With so many options available, and few approaching a complete end-to-end solution, the process of selecting and integrating the best of the best is paramount. Ultimately, clients are seeking an experience. They are buying a lifestyle, and elegantly integrated automation technologies will deliver if packaged and deployed with a customer lifestyle first mindset.

Imagine if Apple or Tesla entered the modular apartment scene; there would be a colossal mind shift where apartments would be designed with technology at the forefront during the design/build process. With this in mind, doesn’t it make sense to include automation technologies at the inception of each project?

Keep the customer experience and the lifestyle that you are selling front and center. The core of the automation technology selection and integration process should be driven by the lifestyle story. Invest in the features that matter. Invest in the features that support the experience.

What technologies are you integrating in your residential development to provide value and how do they support the lifestyle that you are selling?