Philips Research — Technologies

HomeLab

Our testing ground for a better tomorrow

Picture yourself relaxing at home on your couch. You're unwinding from a long day and want to play some music but you're too exhausted to move. Instead, you say “Music, where are you?” and hum your favorite slow tune. Lucky for you, your smart home entertainment system understands your needs. Not only does it play the song you were humming, it dims the lights to provide a more relaxing environment for you.

Sound too good to be true? Believe it or not, this technology is already being tested at the Philips HomeLab, a unique research facility on Philips' High Tech campus, the epicenter of Philips' global R&D activities, in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.

Philips created HomeLab to test its new home technology prototypes in the most realistic possible way; the facility is essential in speeding up the time-to-market for technological innovation.

What is HomeLab?

Philips HomeLab looks and feels like a regular home with modern furniture in every room, Van Gogh prints on the walls, and even a fully stocked kitchen. While no one lives at Philips HomeLab, temporary “residents” can stay at the facility for as long as needed, depending on the type of research being conducted.

The prototypes range from electronics that recognize your voice and movement to digital displays within the bathroom mirror to new “toys” that help will children expand their creativity.

Philips researchers will carefully watch how their tenants are living with these technologies 24 hours a day through tiny cameras and microphones that are hidden unobtrusively throughout HomeLab. According to the scientists who developed Philips HomeLab, being able to study people in a natural home environment will help them to develop better products, faster. It gives them a true sense of how people are interacting with technology beyond the initial “newness” euphoria, and the test subjects act naturally because they are in a comfortable home setting—not a stuffy laboratory.

So, Where are the Electronics?

What's noticeably missing from Philips HomeLab is lots of bulky electronic equipment. In the home of the future, electronics will be seamlessly integrated into your home with built-in flat-screen monitors, wireless connections and voice or gesture recognition, so that you will hardly notice its presence. In fact, the home of the future will actually look more like the home of the past — when TVs, DVD-players, speakers, computers, remote controls and wires didn't clutter your living room! This is part of what Philips calls “Ambient Intelligence,” which means technology that can think on its own and react to (or, possibly even predict!) your individual needs so that you don't have to work to use it. In the not-so-distant-future you really won't have to move a muscle or even press a button to hear the music you want to play!

What else is at HomeLab?

HomeLab is an integral part of Philips' R&D process, which puts the consumer at the center of the product development cycle. The cycle begins with a concept that it is turned into a prototype — which is then installed at HomeLab. From there, researchers evaluate the HomeLab residents' use of the new technology. Depending on their behavior, the researchers may decide to re-tool the prototype, scrap the concept or move ahead in the product’s development. According to this evolving process, the prototype technologies at HomeLab will change frequently. HomeLab is currently testing a number of technologies:

DREAMSCREEN

The DreamScreen project studies how wall- and window-sized video and audio will be used in the future to create immersive experiences. Transforming for example windows into display surfaces will enable a range of new applications and services, including true home theater and replacement of real views bymore attractive virtual ones. Key elements needed to create such experiences are very large displays, directional sound, and simple, location aware interaction solutions.
To learn what people will want to do in the future when such possibilities emerge, an interactive DreamScreen test set-up has been created in HomeLab, over the full (9 m) width of it's living room windows, with images, video, and directional sound. Intuitive interaction solutions are being explored, using smart carpet technologies to locate and identify users.

INTERACTIVE MIRROR

The Interactive Mirror enhances a mirror with a display function, while adding interactivity by sensing user input. The Interactive Mirror demonstrates several application concepts for domestic and professional use, supporting and enhancing our daily activities by providing new possibilities. A set of applications specifically developed for the bathroom enables you to check the latest weather forecast and traffic information, examine your weight, try on new hairstyles, and control ambient lighting. A new application called “Double Vision” allows the mirror to act as a magnifying mirror and show your back view. It also offers an intuitive user interface for adjusting light settings that simulate different lighting conditions, e.g. ‘Outdoor’, ‘Office’, etc. Professional domain applications and interaction concepts are shown for retail businesses and hairdressers salons.
To activate and control applications on the display mirror, two interaction concepts have been developed: interaction with the mirror frame and interaction in the mirror proximity. These concepts combine the advantages of direct pointing and, at the same time, do not require touching the mirror to avoid fingerprints.
 

INTERACTIVE TOYS

Studying how Ambient Intelligence can be applied to toys, while preserving their natural ease of use, may yield principles of user interaction that can be applied elsewhere. Toy-related technology also needs to be low-cost, setting it up for pervasive application without the costs becoming prohibitive. One of the technologies investigated is the emerging field of wireless sensor networks, which enable new functions and interaction styles. In HomeLab two toy applications are studied: StoryToy, an interactive storytelling environment, and Splashball, a mixed reality ball game.

iCAT

Personal robotics is an emerging category of consumer products that we expect to play a major role in the connected home by supporting everyday access to devices and functions. Personal robotics can require research into appropriate applications, perceived personality and the software architecture for autonomous intelligent behavior. In HomeLab, a demo shows iCat as a helpful assistant in the kitchen. It combines information about the user’s calendar, weight and activity to give tips on what to eat and do, taking into account personal preferences.

Click on the link below for more information:
+ iCat

 

Download high-resolution pictures

+ Pictures on HomeLab

Video

+ Video on HomeLab (2 min.)