Photos: Accenture's home of the future

Consulting company is betting that tomorrow's households will be a lot smarter than today's.

By Bill Detwiler, Contributor July 19, 2006 at 4:50 a.m. PT

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LifeShirt

Consulting firm Accenture is placing big bets on sensors in the coming decade. Here, Accenture consultant Claus Habermeier tries on the LifeShirt from VivoMetrics, which tracks heart rate, respiratory rate, weight, activity, posture and other vital signs.

The screen displays data and pops up notes whenever potential warning signs occur. The data can also be delivered to doctors' offices.

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Medicine cabinet

The medicine cabinet of the future. An LCD in the right-side door displays messages and the medicine in the cabinet is tagged with RFID chips. If you grab the Rogaine instead of what you're supposed to take, a warning appears on the screen. (A mirror in the left door reflects an LCD screen across the room.)

Like Intel and others, Accenture says that industries such as health care and retail can cut costs by more accurately tracking products and keeping in touch with customers.

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Crib LCD

The LCD screen in the crib lets parents keep an eye on children, and even have a videoconference with them. Accenture's crib also contains sensors that monitor heart rate and other vital signs. (Intel has a similar "smart crib" experiment.)

Accenture doesn't make sensors but figures out ways to weave them together to form intelligent networks among ordinarily inert objects.

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A window on the world? No, it's an LCD screen with curtains that offers a virtual view of the outside world, or serves up home photos from a PC. Just the thing you might want to brighten a basement, or perhaps the kitchen in a post-apocalyptic hideaway.

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