NOT SO SMART HOME
1989 Tomorrow’s World predictions for 2020 home – from walls that charge your gadgets to ‘vanishing’ windows
THIRTY years ago, the world was a very different place.
We didn't have the internet or smartphones buzzing in our pockets, and tellies were about the size of today's washing machines.
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Back in 1989, the BBC aired a show in which an expert envisioned how the homes of Brits would look in the year 2020.
Some of the hilarious predictions, such as windows that can "turn into walls", look a little outlandish today.
But others, like the ability to play music just by barking a command, are pretty close to the mark.
And walls that charge gadgets could be likened to today's wireless phone chargers.
A clip from the episode of Tomorrow's World was posted to the BBC Archive's Facebook page .
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In it, presenters spoke to technology forecaster Christine MacNulty, CEO of Applied Futures.
Christine, who has since co-authored two books on the future of technology, described what homes would look like in 2020.
"People will want all the benefits of modern technology but without all the cluttered and complex gadgetry that we have today," she said.
"They'll want homes that work for them. By 2020, all of this will be possible.
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"We'll have things under control without all of these knobs and buttons.
"And what's more, the technology itself will be embedded in the very fabric of the house and its furnishings."
A BBC presenter then walks through a model home filled with the tech predicted to feature in rooms of the future.
Among the gadgetry shown off are lights that automatically switch on and off as you walk between rooms.
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And you can even play your favourite music by yelling a command – much like you can today through smart speakers like the Amazon Echo.
"A simple command gives you music, perhaps piped in from a sound library," the presenter says.
Another prediction is that electrical sockets would be a thing of the past by 2020.
Instead, your gadgets would supposedly take charge via pads that draw power from any spot on your wall.
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To demonstrate this, the presenter slaps the end of a hairdryer cord onto the wall and begins using it to dry his barnet.
"Plugs become pads picking up power from anywhere on the wall," he says.
Experts also predicted that windows would change dramatically over the following three decades.
Special technology would mean you could turn your window pane into a TV or computer screen showing graphics or films.
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Or if you didn't fancy having a window, you could even "turn it into a wall" by making it vanish altogether.
The Tomorrow's World clip rounds off with an assurance that the home of the future will be customisable.
"The people who are already planning the home we'll be living in in 30 years assure us that we can take as much or as little technology as we like," a presenter says.
"The crucial point is there'll be no single home of the future. There'll be millions of different ones."
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