Hi James,

thanks for your comments, and very precise observations! All three points + the pivotal post scriptum are right on.
On 06.03.2012, at 11:19, James Wallbank wrote:

> Hello All,
>
> I have three responses to the "IoT House" idea, which range from the skeptical to the fully engaged... Take your choice!
>
> (1) I have sympathy with Jean-Noël's instinct that the IoT House could be an intrusive environment that respects neither privacy, resource consumption, nor biological processes. We should remain critical while we investigate.

exactly - it is clear that this is an issue with two extreme and polarised possibilities.
>
> (2) The idea of an IoT House misses the key feature of IoT - which is its connecting, communicating nature. Doesn't drawing a boundary at "house" miss the point fundamentally? Perhaps a better way to examine a "slice" of IoT would be not a physical location, but a "day in the life" of IoT.

This is similar to Rob's point about going beyond the 'house' and moving into the neighbourhood. In general I agree with this, and certainly see this contextualised as such. My reasoning, or open pondering about the issue deals with the specific peculiarities of the house (and yes, as you mention below 'home') and it's relationship within a broader much more complex whole. These things, objects ... houses, homes do exist -and it's very easy to conceptually move beyond their 'extreme' physicality and presence, but I'm interested in looking at it from this particular almost-too-real-world architectonic point of view.
>
> This would show how "the house" is no longer isolated from the supermarket, the media conglomorate, the electricity supplier, the waste disposal system. This perspective would show how patterns of behaviour change - maybe our IoT "day-in-the-lifer" would neither work from home, NOR from the office - but use third spaces to meet and interact. Or would they tend not to move from their office chair? How would they work, communicate, shop, travel?
>
> Would IoT impact on their habits and behaviours? (Note how the cellphone has changed social behaviour - now people are less willing to arrange and commit to social gatherings, and are more happy to drift unplanned through social time in the urban space. And even when their body is physically present, sometimes their attention is elsewhere).
>
> (3) I have a suggestion for the IoT House - how about abandoning 220 volt (or 110 volt) electricity supply altogether and replace all power outlets with 5 volt USB outlets in the walls? With new power-saving technologies, 5 volts should be enough for anyone! (And for hotels, of course, there is the appealing opportunity to surveil attached devices.) This could be an interesting design challenge for energetic home appliances - maybe they could be powered by other systems.

great point - very interesting!

>
> Best regards,
>
> James
>
> P.S. Interesting that we're referring to an IoT "house" rather than an IoT "home". Does this reflect a suspicion that we associate IoT with impersonal structures (houses), not welcoming, friendly, safe, private spaces (homes)?

and yes ... the core of the idea is indeed a home, but to get to a 'home' you need the 'thing'. This can be a flat, a house, duplex, tent, beach ... a lot of things can define 'home', and the model I'm interested in at this point is the one more or less associated with the thing 'house'.

cheers,

stephen

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stephen kovats
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