LIVING ROOM
TELEVISION
LG has now introduced OLED screens that can be
rol led up like a newspaper. Panasonic, on the other
hand, has released a prototype of a television
screen that’s transparent when not in use. Soon we
could see improved integration into our living
rooms, where our television screens double up as
windows or walls.LIGHTING
Why just switch the lights on when you could create
an immersive mood instead? Philips Hue is a
wireless lighting system that lets you control light
colour and intensity from a smartphone app, but
Mipow’s Playbulb goes one better. As well as being a
pretty nifty light bulb, it’s also a wireless speaker.
When you’re putting the kids to bed, use it as a
nightlight and get it to play their favourite lullaby.
More of a party animal? Set it to pulse in
technicolour. A minimalist’s dream.CLEANING
While Hoover may have once been synonymous
with vacuum cleaners, Dyson is fast becom ing the
staple for the task. The company has come to the
autonomous robot vacuum market late, because it
wanted to get it perfect. The Dyson 360 Eye uses
“complex mathematics, probability theory,
geometry and trigonometry to map and navigate a
room,” says the company. The 360 Eye will self-
charge, too. The next step? One that will empty
itself so human hands never need touch the smart
robo-servant at all.PRINTING
3D pr inting is stil l a fairly specialist hobby, but soon
we’ll see an advanced printer in every home. Imagine
raw materials being piped to your home, and a room-
sized printer where nearly anything you can image
can be pr inted. For now, fans of 3D pr inting can use
sites like Thingiverse and Shapeways to create custom
furnishings, but in the future, their repertoire could
expand to include many more mater ials.WI-FI
Wi-Fi is everywhere, and so is Bluetooth. Wi-Fi
once operated at frequencies of 2.5GHz, but now
works at 5GHz for a slightly shorter range but
higher bandwidth. Now it’s gone the other way
w ith HaLow, a low-power, long-range Wi-Fi. This
is a bit like Bluetooth and will allow devices such as
sensors and wearables to talk to each other without
g uzzling power. The result should be easily
installable smart home upgrades with less reliance
on mains power connections.THE TV
1986
Cathode ray tube TVs dominated
living rooms in the 1980s and
often had a video recorder
nestled underneath. Satellite
services arrived on the scene a
few years later.2016
Large flatscreen LCD TVs are the
norm today, often equipped with
‘smart TV’ features and linked up
to a recording device, streaming
box, or games console.2036
Expect high-definition televisions
of the future to be pretty much
invisible until you turn them on,
masquerading the rest of the time
as a wall or window.LG’s flexible
screen can be
rolled up and
popped in a
cupboard until
neededDyson’s 360 Eye uses
complex calculations to
clean your houseSCIENCE