In the past couple of decades, we have become used to interacting with our world through a lens of technology – but that lens is about to change yet again. Researchers at the Hasso Platner Institute are working on a project that will completely change how technology affects our everyday lives. The group is working on a smart floor that will effectively add a new dimension of interactive tech to our environment.

The smart floor itself is called Multitoe. The interface detects people and things standing on it. Then a complementary system called GravitySpace uses special software and a projector located beneath a glass floor to show avatars moving around the room. The avatars are each associated with a specific person (these have to be set up ahead of time) and follow that person around, creating a sort of digital double. The floor is so sensitive that it can detect your posture and movements through only a few small points of contact (such as your feet).

This system has the potential to completely change the way we interact with our environments. Because the floor can sense every object in physical contact with it, it is able to tell when there are multiple people in the room. Apps could be developed to play games or communicate through the floor itself. The team behind the project predicts that eventually the technology will find its way into removable carpets, so that when you move into a new place you have only to roll out the carpet and get started enjoying your digital life in a new physical environment.

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Despite the warnings we’ve received from countless TV shows and movies about “smart” houses gaining sentience and killing their inhabitants, it looks like the world is going to go ahead with the whole techno-house thing. The project is called InterHome, and it is being developed for elderly people living on their own. The home is able to monitor the well-being of its inhabitants as well as monitor their electricity use. With the use of a wristband, the system tracks the user’s pulse and temperature so that, in the event of a health emergency, the house can call the designated emergency contact person.

The system was originally developed to help homeowners keep track of and reduce their energy usage. But the researchers, a team at Duke University, realized that the smart system could also be used to keep track of the well-being of an aging population. A spiking fever, a serious fall or other medical emergency would be recognized by the system and prompt the wristband to keep track of vital signs, then alert authorities or family members. The project has already received government funding and researchers are working on integrating wearable RFID tags that would alert authorities when a user didn’t move for a while or if an Alzheimer’s sufferer wandered away from home. Which sounds pretty great until the smart house systems start developing personalities and attachments. Innovate at your own risk.

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By now, most of us have played with Google Maps to find aerial images of our homes and offices, but residents of Antwerp, Belgium have an even cooler way to look down on their dwellings. This website gives homeowners an infrared look at their homes and just how much heat is escaping through their insulation. The infrared images, captured from a small airplane, give visitors to the site a basic kind of heat vision: red and yellow indicate areas of more heat while green and blue areas are cooler.

The images used to create the heat-indicating map were all taken over the course of four cold nights in March 2009; they were overlaid on regular photographic images the neighborhoods. The website is the cooperative effort of 21 municipalities in Antwerp; the hope is that homeowners will be inspired to improve their home’s energy efficiency. It’s one thing to tell homeowners that they should improve their home’s insulation, but letting them see first-hand how much heat is escaping and being wasted might spur them to actually make a change. Besides, looking at your neighborhood with infrared vision might be just about the coolest way to see the place you live.

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When past generations thought about the future, their predictions often centered on making home life easier. And where was there more room for improvement than in the kitchen? Before dishwashers, microwave ovens and garbage disposals, moms of the past (and, rarely, dads) spent a large amount of time in the kitchen preparing meals and cleaning up. So naturally, the perception of the future kitchen was one of convenience and automation.

This future kitchen concept from 1943 predicted that we’d do away with pots, pans and serving dishes in favor of recessed vessels that would do it all. These chambers, made of a futuristic material called Therm-X, were set into the cooking surface and made the kitchen into a buffet. Rather than carrying serving dishes to the table, mom could simply dish up portions from right there in the kitchen.

The unit’s refrigerator was an amazing chamber set into the surface of the cooking area, with a glass door to let mom know what was inside and two openings so that items could be retrieved from the kitchen or from the adjoining dining alcove. The cooker likewise featured a glass door and state-of-the-art temperature regulation. It featured a motor-driven spit so that mom could keep an eye on the rotating roast from every angle. Even the toaster was set into the countertop surface, giving even more functionality to the all-in-one space.

When the integrated sliding cover was pulled over the cooking/food prep surface, the entire setup would become a desk or bar surface. The original article, which was run in the Uniontown, PA Morning Herald, claimed that washing dishes would be a thing of the past, and that the majority of the cook’s work could be done sitting down. That’s one improvement that actually has come to pass, though today the cook is often sitting in the other room watching TV while our amazing appliances take care of nearly everything.

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Apparently, it’s getting easier to be green on the sly. A new generation of rooftop solar energy collectors is here, and they’re not the huge, cumbersome solar panels we’re used to. These actually look like part of the roof. American chemical giant Dow (or, rather, their Dow Solar division) recently announced their building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roof shingles, which they say will bring affordable solar power to more homes. There isn’t yet any pricing information available, so we have to wonder what Dow considers “affordable.” But the panels do, in fact, look much more integrated with the home than huge, wing-like solar panels. And with some homeowners’ associations banning the large panels, this may be just the answer for solar-minded homeowners.

The Powerhouse solar shingles can be integrated into new-construction houses with asphalt roofs. Both the solar shingles and standard shingles can be applied at the same time, and the solar shingles won’t require a special installer; Dow says that any roofer can install them. They will be available on a limited scale in mid-2010, then more widely available in 2011.

If you’re looking for a household solar solution that’s even more clandestine, SRS Energy has some beautiful roof tiles that you’d never guess were actually solar generators. The company says that only 20%-25% of the average home roof would feature the solar tiles, with the rest of the roof being covered in standard clay tiles that look exactly the same. The solar tiles can generate a potential 500 watts per 100 square feet, and they’re basically ready to go from the day they’re installed. The Solé Power Tiles also install just like their non-solar counterparts, making them a simple way to integrate some solar power into your home. And – dare we say it – they’re so pretty that they may actually improve your home’s appearance.

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