Microsoft’s Home of the Future: A Visual Tour

This is the entrance to Microsoft’s model home of the future located at the company’s Executive Briefing Center in Redmond, Wash. The doors open to Microsoft’s vision of what our humble abodes may look like in the not-so-distant future, where natural user interfaces on walls and countertops use technologies such as sensors, light-emitting diodes, gestures, multitouch, voice and 3-D to transform the way we live.

In the entryway, a decorative tray charges devices like smartphones and watches and displays information like the time, temperature and battery life. But it goes deeper than that. Here a smart watch is placed on the tray to upload details of a recent workout, automatically synching to a personal Microsoft HealthVault account for heart rate, mileage, calories burned, and information from other devices you may be wearing.

This multi-touch screen monitor in the kitchen uses software and services to offer personalized information such as a family’s calendar, messages and appointment reminders.

In the dining room, the table can be converted into to a party scene for the kids. Guests have personalized place settings and a virtual airplane they can fly around the table surface using hand gestures.