While geeks have long been ahead of the technology curve, the stunning proliferation of smart tech has certainly made creating a nerd’s home easier. ZDNet estimate that 80 million USA homes now have smart devices, and that’s made compelling competition for market forces – there is simply a huge technological demand to be filled with ever more innovative designs. Indeed, while the gaming room still forms the core of the truly geekified household, there are items you can place into every portion of your living space to bring nerd credentials to every single aspect of your day-to-day life – starting with nutrition.
Nutrition and snacking
An energy drink and a snack is never far from the hands of those immersed in geek culture, but that’s not to say there isn’t a nascent interest in nutrition too. Smart technology and devices that really appeal to the technology lover in every geek are becoming more common. At the heart of this is the refrigerator, which is already a fantastic piece of technology deserving of attention during kitchen design. There is now an increasingly wide range of choices for refrigeration, and fridges are available in colors and sizes to suit any lifestyle. Now, appliance giants like LG and Samsung are locked in an arms race to see who can create the most high-tech and life-defining fridge. Using sophisticated AI and algorithms that wouldn’t out of place in the 00s tech giants’ repository, these fridges can track calorie intake and the sell-by-dates of products, and can create micro-climates within the fridge itself to keep choice items cooler or warmer. As a point of influence for other important kitchen tools like blenders and ovens, they’re turning the culinary experience of the home into a geeky one.
Moving the autonomy a step up
Many great sci-fi and dystopian settings have an element of autonomy to them. That’s part of the sci-fi feel – objects being so high-tech that they respond to your very presence. This is becoming more of a reality with robotics in the smart home. In Spain, house designers of the future have created eco-friendly homes that use autonomous tech to lower energy costs and design a home entirely around the needs of its owner.
The geekiest of all?
Geek culture is about immersing yourself in something perhaps entirely new to yourself and learning about every minute detail – world exploring. There’s an argument to be made that this can apply to house-building, according to The Telegraph Australia, and there’s wisdom in that argument. Increasingly, custom home builds are being built by those with the disposable income to construct something they love from the ground up. That could include classic features that reflect geek culture (Star Trek-style automatic sliding doors are not unheard of), or are a techie’s dream – stuff like walls made from materials that are conducive to wireless signals transmission, or entire walls built from screen panels that can act as a moving picture-frame or a huge cinema screen.
The smart home is popular, and for geeks, that means opportunity. Making your home a reality similar to those in your favorite shows and settings has never been easier. In fact, it might even be the most realistic next step for sensible future home building.