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Home Tweet home ... inventor runs his cottage via website
Mark Prigg, Science and Technology Editor8 Sep 2009
A home where Twitter tells its owner when dinner is ready, if someone is at the door or even when a mouse has been caught in a trap has been unveiled.
The 16th-century cottage has been transformed into one of the most hi-tech homes in the world.
It has been fitted with hundreds of sensors, allowing everything from water usage to the burglar alarm to be relayed by the micro-blogging website.
Should anything go wrong, such as a light or a tap being left on, the house can automatically send a tweet alerting its owner, Dr Andy Stanford-Clark, 43, who has the job title of distinguished engineer and master inventor for computer firm IBM.
Dr Stanford-Clark started renovating the house five years ago, installing sensors to monitor power usage, but later realised Twitter's potential.
He said: “My day job is about mentoring people and looking about how objects can be linked to the web, so the house really just grew from taking my work home with me. It's a bit of a showcase for the technology.”
Dr Stanford-Clark, who spoke about his house at the British Science Festival in Guildford today, expanded his work to install sensors in almost every object, and believes similar systems could help consumers save money.
“Monitoring things such as how much power our house is using can give us valuable insights into the cost of various appliances in the home,” he said.
“Recently I was out and got a tweet saying water usage was higher than normal. I phoned home and my wife looked out of the window to see the garden hose had been left on.
“This can help us take steps to reduce our carbon footprint and reduce energy bills. Mine has dropped by a third in the last year.
“These systems are also relatively inexpensive to set up — a basic set-up would cost around £150.”
The system had to use wireless sensors wherever possible because the cottage is a listed building.
“It was a real challenge but was relatively simple using technology easily available — the chips used in Oyster cards, for example,” said Dr Stanford-Clark.
The old cottage caused other problems — mice being one. “It is impossible to know if traps have been triggered without constantly checking.
So I developed a Twitter mousetrap which sends me a message when it is triggered.”
The house can also be monitored and controlled over a mobile phone. An application allows Dr Stanford-Clark to switch on appliances in the Isle of Wight cottage wherever he is.
“It's very convenient at times,” he said. “If I'm on the way home I can turn on the heating.”
Dr Stanford-Clark, who helps firms use sensors to monitor industrial equipment, admits his hobby has taken up a lot of time.
He said: “My wife has been very understanding.”
Reader views (1)
To be honest - who gives a tweet. Seems an utter waste of time and effort
- Tb, Winchester, UK, 08/09/2009 18:01
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