Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
HAVE YOU EVER forgotten to turn the lights or – God forbid – the immersion off before leaving the house?
Or have you ever wanted to warm up the house before you get home but forgot to pre-set the heating? Then you’ll be happy to hear there are a variety of high-tech ways you can control the heating without having to physically be at home.
And it’s not only heating and lights that can now be controlled from a distance. A number of apps and high-tech systems have already been developed which allow you to remotely control a whole range of appliances including your house alarm and washing machine.
Smart vaccuums…
LG has developed a whole range of robot-vacuums that can clean your carpets and floors without crashing into the furniture or the walls (or the dog). Some, like the Hom-Bot below, have two cameras, one on the top and one beneath, to plot the cleaning path and can store floor plans for future reference. The dust bag is in the middle section and accessed from the top. (They do cost several hundreds of dollars though…)
YouTube: Fraggboy
… and fridges
LG has also developed a smart fridge which connects with your smartphone to check the food inside and the expiration dates. The fridge can recommend recipes based on the ingredients and the recipes can be tailored to a personal profile based on your age, gender, weight and BMI.
Remote-controlled home
If you’re looking for a handy way to control the heating, check out heatmiser’s WiFi thermostat, which can be used to control your heating from your iPhone or from the web. This system also allows you to lock the buttons on the unit in the house “as an easy way to save energy”, according to the manufacturers. Now that’s control…
Meanwhile, a free Panasonic Smart App coming out in Japan in September can be used to control a whole range of home appliances remotely via a smartphone.
The compatible appliances you can set and control from afar include steam-rice cookers and washer-dryers, as well as health-focused products like blood pressure monitors:
[U]sers can control their air conditioners remotely from outside the home, check if the refrigerator is running efficiently, or set their preferred washing cycle using their smartphone. The new app also allows owners of the Panasonic healthcare products to create graphs tracking their weight and calories consumed by everyday activities among other things, making it easier to manage daily healthcare data. Furthermore, customer support such as checking device malfunctions will also be available.
And if you want a whole house that can be controlled remotely, then one of these Proto Homes might be just the thing you’re looking for. Built from energy-conservation materials, the home’s functions, from the stereo system and the heating to the alarm, can be controlled from the iPhone or iPad. You can also use your smartphone or tablet to check that status of your home’s security by checking on the doors and windows.
This funky-soundtracked report on a Proto Homes house featuring its builder Frank Vafee demonstrates the level of control the homeowner has over the property – using an iPad:
YouTube: SeniorQuack
Proto Homes prices are based on $210 a square foot, including fixtures and construction.
The next level of control
And if controlling the appliances remotely seems like a move in the right direction but just isn’t quite enough control for you, then check out the award-winning ‘Closet House’ in Matosinhos, Portugal.
The property can be re-designed internally at your whim by moving the walls around electronically. At the push of a button, you can reorganise the layout, as well as raise or conceal your TV screens, and control the curtains.
The property won the Interiors Category of ArchDaily’s Building of the Year Awards in 2010 and the organisation made this video tour of the super-tech house.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Jeeeez…. About time. Hats off to Catherine Corelss for doing all that work, persistence and campaigning and fair dues to Roderic too…. thought he did a reasonable job under the circumstances of trying to to clean up a mess not of his doing.
Why isn’t the Criminal Assets Bureau seizing their wealth? Disgraceful organisation, in my opinion, tasked with the care of these women and their unfortunate children and inflicting this misery instead.
Where is the criminal investigation?
Thanks to Catherine Corless
The Green Party to make the findings hidden for “GDPR Purposes”.
@Peter McGlynn: You’d want to brush up on how Irish law works !!!!! One thing you need to learn is that GDPR laws apply to everyone… no party, in government or not, can break that law!!!!! Okay if you’re anti Green or anti GDPR… You might like to know …. They’re not the same!!!! A SF minister would have to do the same!!!!!
@Jerriko17: this government fight the European GDPR regulator in court when it states that the implementation of the Irish national ID card is violating GDPR laws.
Yet O’Gorman of the greens cries out GDPR when it comes to hiding names of those mother and baby home perpetrators.
Minister for children mehole.
@Peter McGlynn: He can only deal with the law as it stands now, nothing to do with the Greens …. Maybe you’d like to put it on the back burner until the GDPR legislation is changed!!!!!! It’s a European based law so God knows how long that would take!! Roderic, as far as I know is a law lecturer so I’d imagine he’s a bit more familiar with it than you or me.
About fuping time
Suffer little children
@Nollaig Kelly: yeah they took the “suffering” and neglect literally
We dont need new laws to investigate possible crimes!
P.S. Endless respect and gratitude to Catherine Coreless for giving all these victims (mothers and babies) a voice too long denied. Thank you
Why does it take so long to do anything in this country
They’ll never find a cause of death that can be used as evidence against anyone in a court of law.
Why couldn’t the remains have been removed 5 years ago in the correct manner and the pieces placed in coffins once sorted
Then handed back to any familes still alive …the ones without family could be placed in an appropriate resting place or memorial
Genuinely would like to know why it took a new law
To think that the moral barometer of this country was dictated by the RC Church especially John Charles Mcquaid. These girls were victims of assault, incest & usually ignorance, they & their children were betrayed by a so called Christian institution that allegedly holds forgiveness, kindness & compassion at the core of its so called value system. Beaten, betrayed & condemned to indentured servitude their babies were sold abroad, enrolled in drug test programmes or just allowed to die from neglect. While the Church & State profited from their suffering. And even now when the cat is out of the bag we’re still gonna go though the same hip deep river of 5hit because the guilty parties will Deny, Delay, Defer and Defend at all costs until either the victims or the perpetrators are all dead.
have your say