Homes of the future

Good morning. Today I'll be experiencing a taste of the future.

From the latest in home design to incredible gadgets, I'll be looking at how we could be living in the future.

A hot shower is a great start to the day, but this is no ordinary shower. It's using rain water collected from the roof and heated by solar energy, or heat from the sun.

I'm surrounded by some of the most modern houses in the world. Each one has been built as an experiment, designed to test the latest technology and ideas for living.

Some of these houses can evolve as people's lives change. Thinking of having more housemates? Just add on another layer – like children's building blocks.

Peter White is the Marketing Manager of the Innovation Park, where the houses are built.

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Amandeep: Peter, are these houses really a glimpse of the future?

Peter White: They are. In the next few years, we'll be living in houses that look like this.

Amandeep: Just how much do they vary from ordinary houses?

Peter White: In some ways they're very similar. The kitchen, the bathrooms, the televisions are just like now but the technology in the houses makes them much more energy efficient.

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You may have seen the next invention in the movies, and it could mean no more lost keys in the future. It's called fingerprint recognition technology. And it lets you back in.

Now, this control panel is the brain of the house. You can set the temperature, and the shutters close automatically when it's hot outside. And this is one of my favourites: you get to control the music in every part of the house. So how about a bit of this ... Or ... maybe we should go for this ...

Now, can you guess what this is? It redefines the simple ... chair. This rocks – literally. And it's a library as well. So I can grab my favourite book and just sit back and relax. I think I could spend some time here. So would you mind coming back a little later?

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I asked some people who are interested in house design what they would like to see in the house of the future.

Woman 1: I would love a self-cleaning house.

Man 1: I'd like an eco-house that uses renewable energy and doesn't impact on the environment.

Woman 2: I'd like a device that could carry me up to bed when I feel tired.

Man 2: I'd like a house where I could watch the football in every room.

Woman 3: In my house of the future, I'd like a robot man that I can turn off.

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It's time to relax, and my favourite programme, Word on the Street, is about to start – and on a solar-powered TV!