GE Envisions Home of the Future
GE Envisions Home of the Future
GE creates living spaces of the future inHome 2025project; consumer convenience reigns for the foreseeable future
Designs include all-in-one appliances and laundry machines that make folding passé
External refrigeration units for home deliveries and biometric appliances allow seniors to stay in their homes longer
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NYSE: GE) — GE has imagined the technological enhancements that will change the way we live and how our homes will look a dozen years from now, after studying trends in advances in food science, demographic shifts, ecological issues, healthcare services, water scarcity and home delivery. "This isn't about the Jetsons or pie-in-the-sky ideas," said Lou Lenzi, director for GE Appliances' Industrial Design Operation. "Home 2025 is about reality-based innovation that will be possible over the next decade."
In 1960, Arthur BecVar, GE's manager of industrial design for major appliances, and his team of designers imagined a kitchen of the future. Today, many of his ideas, such as an induction cooking surface and refrigerator ice dispenser, have become a reality in many kitchens. (Photo: GE)
Using its expanded industrial design team and advanced development engineers, GE Appliances has envisioned the home of 2025. Extending beyond the typical product cycle horizon of three to five years, four teams of employees focused on distinct customer segments and what their homes would be like in the future.
"To project what the Home of 2025 may look like, we first took a high-level look at where we think society, culture and technology are taking us and intersected that with ways in which we could make our lives less complex and more enjoyable," said Lenzi. "We conceptualized how we will prepare meals, wash clothes and interact with information as families over the next dozen years."
How it started
Before they began designing, the teams started with research. "Our first step was to extensively review macro trends and the latest advancements in technology," said Lenzi. From advanced materials to energy efficiency, the team took a broad view on the biggest macro trends impacting our society.
The teams explored various life stages and home configurations to develop concepts of the future. From younger consumers in smaller spaces to older consumers in single-family homes, each team had specific target consumers and designed a living space based on their unique needs.
Key themes and future concepts of the Home of 2025 include:
The death of one-purpose appliances: Much like the smartphone has become a TV, a navigation system and a phone, so will appliances integrate disparate functions into uber-appliances. This becomes more important as sizes of homes and apartments continue to shrink.
The supermarket goes the way of the video store ... and the milkman returns: Smart appliances perform inventory management and automatically place online orders for food. As consumers desire more fresh food delivered to their home, refrigeration units can be installed with access outside of your home, so you need not be present for delivery.
Water scarcity means innovations in washing: Gray water will be recycled and repurposed through our appliances.
Honey, I ate the houseplant: As the desire for fresh food grows, indoor plants become a food source as synthetic beehives provide pollination.
The clothing store becomes one machine: In GE's Home 2025, a laundry machine not only washes and dries, it stores clothing items in convenient pellet form, and then revives clothes for immediate wear or dispenses them in compressed form for travel. Commercial compressors and revivers are found in public areas.
Aging in place: As older consumers rely on fewer people to take care of them, appliances that take biometric information and dispense medication can mean independence for many years to come.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter or check out our website for more information
Friend GE Appliances on Facebook to view how-to videos; learn about new GE appliances, and join in the discussion with other GE appliance owners. Join today and follow @GE_Appliances on Twitter or just locate detailed information about our products at www.geappliances.com.
About GE Appliances
GE Appliances is at the forefront of building innovative, energy-efficient appliances that improve people's lives. GE Appliances' products include refrigerators, freezers, cooking products, dishwashers, washers, dryers, air conditioners, water filtration systems and water heaters. General Electric (NYS: GE) works on things that matter to build a world that works better. For more information on GE Appliances, visit www.ge.com/appliances.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20130912006008/en/
GE Appliances
Julie Wood, PR Manager, 502-452-5914
Julie_Wood@ge.com
KEYWORDS: United States North America Connecticut Kentucky
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:
The article GE Envisions Home of the Future originally appeared on Fool.com.
Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
