How do digital technologies change ways of living and the housing? Do they cause new problems? Which new opportunities? How can the resident be autonomous at home, and create new services, himself? Here are some questions the "Connected homes for connected people" program has worked on…

More deeply than home automation, digital technologies have invaded homes through mobile phones, personal computers, boxes, TV, game consoles, etc. ”Smart home”, imagined more than 20 years ago, proves to be primarily a communicational and relational home, continuously crossed by various flows. Residents try to manage, control or even shut down these flows. Digital technologies have sustainably transformed our ways of living and housing. Objects, furniture and devices in the house, have gained through digital, new affordances. As a result, new perspectives of uses and living come for the inhabitants. Operators and providers can deliver new services. But there are also new annoyances, discomforts, problems for which improvements and solutions have to be found.

Gathering VIA, Promotelec, Renault Group, La Poste, Minatec Laboratory (CEA), CNR Santé, ESIR Engineering school, this program consisted in a collaborative work, from January, 2011 to January, 2012.

The subject of "Connected homes for connected people" has been explored, through 4 themes, 4 "innovation territories ". 17 "innovation paths" have been developed, suggesting new infrastructures, services, objects and forms of mediation ; 5 videos have been produced to develop them.

You can find all the results of the program right here (Presentation in French only) :

4 innovation territories :

• An intimate and personal « home sweet home » The intimate home, a « cocoon » to withdraw and feel safe, is turning into an « extimate » home, with porous borders (inside/outside), in which contents are increasingly dematerialized. Towards new ways of expressing one’s identity, to editorialize one’s home.
• The new digital comfort Smart home makes promise of an accessible world, where everything works immediately, is intuitive and can be repaired remotely. Yet, many problems and discomforts occur. Towards new ways to empower the inhabitants, and make them autonomous, between control and release.
• The housing as hub, a starting and ending point Housing is permanently crossed by physical and digital, coming and going flows : objects, contents, data. Towards new tools to filter and manage flows, to synchronise with one’s environment, with one’s entourage.
• My home, my neighbourhood, my city, my planet The Connected resident is both linked to his/her neighbourhood and to his/her planet. From the house, new relationships to the outside world appear : involvement, implications, sharing practices thanks to networks, new production activities within home. Towards new tools to share and produce with more visibility

The "essentials" of connected home :

Scenario 1 : Moving into a connected house

Moving into a connected house from videosfing on Vimeo.

Scenario 2 : Home sweet home

Home sweet home from videosfing on Vimeo.

Scenario 3 : The house as a Hub

The House as a hub from videosfing on Vimeo.

Scenario 4 : Well-informed resident

Well informed resident from videosfing on Vimeo.

Scenario 5 : Feeling good in the neighborhood, feeling good in the city

Feeling good in the neighbourhood, feeling good in the city from videosfing on Vimeo.

Workshop at Google Zürich : "Connected Home For Connected People"

In January, 2012, Fing organized a workshop at Google Zürich, untitled "Connected Home for Connected People". This one-day workshop, gathered about twenty people ; it enabled them to work on 4 "innovation paths" selected from the 17 paths of "Digital Residents" program. Participants developed three ideas of project : "Tack-tiles", "Bread Assistant" and "Social scales".

Suite au workshop, celles-ci devraient faire l’objet d’un approfondissement entre les partenaires, et des prototypes pourraient voir le jour sous peu…

Here is the report of this workshop :

Interested in participating in "Connected homes for connected people"?

Feel free to contact Amandine Brugière or Thierry Marcou, "Digital Residents" program managers.