We've all heard about it - fridges and cookers having intimate conversations about whether they have the correct ingredients for tonight's supper. If we are to believe the techno savvy we will be running baths on our way home from work and being informed by the home computer management system if the kids come home late. In this latest article we take a look at what the not so distant horizon holds for homes in the technological age. Is it realistic to expect our homes really be talking to the supermarkets to second-guess the shopping list, and if they will be, do we really want them to?

"Visions of the future may start in science fiction, but they have a habit of coming to pass. We saw video conferencing in Blade Runner before we saw it in the boardroom. Mobile communication was in Star Trek while Nokia was still a Finnish forestry firm," said Bob Heathfield, chief executive of the Anglo-Dutch builders Ballast.

As usual it's the Americans who are leading the way. According to the Consumer Electronics Association, over 7.5 million households are equipped with some kind of smart technology. Judging by what our American cousins have already got and also have planned for the future, the chances are that we will be the masters of our own environment in the near future. The advances in telecommunications, internet and wireless application mean the possibilities are almost limitless. And as the sky (not the digital kind) seems to be the limit, we breakdown in to byte size chunks the opportunities at hand.

This are has already seen the greatest use of technology. Young, (some only at heart) affluent professionals have been quick to embrace gadgets and gizmos in their homes. And the trends looks set to continue apace. Within ten years we could quite conceivably see the following developments:

• Wireless applications allowing families and friends play games against each other in different rooms.
• Ability to set the VCR remotely. (This is something it is claimed has been possible for years, but we never seem to manage it!)
• A keypad on which you trigger a fanfare to greet your arrival home. The heating will have already come on ten minutes ago, the lights will be switched on, the kettle just boiled and the robot dog will be in over excited mode while the hi-fi spins another phat one.
• Digital TV will not only bring you video on demand and TV programmes at the times you want them but a new breed of set top box will allow you to control it all from a third generation mobile phone.
• Pioneer is already working on a system in France to develop an MP3 based audio on demand service where tracks can be distributed from a central gateway to different rooms in the house. Nokia has already developed a system called Mediascreen, a handheld screen and backend which allows users to carry the portable device around the home while watching TV.
• And what about 3D TV? Surely someone is working hard to bring us virtual reality TV. Virtually anything that is electronically powered will be controllable through wireless keypads or phones.

The last ten years has seen a massive explosion is the number of security devices installed in the average home. Most of the work in isolation and are in fact pretty dumb. How annoying are the security lights which are always flickering on and off unable to distinguish cats from burglars? Well, hold tight smart security is on it's way:

Complete systems including emergency call out alarms for incapacity, fire, or injury. Burglar alarms, entry phones (of the video type) and police call out systems would all be intrinsically linked to share information.

Each presently has it's own maintenance requirements in the form of batteries, switches to activate and programme settings. This would all be managed by a single central processor and power management system which will increase efficiency and make more of the information the sensors collect.

A single telecommunication modem could enable intelligence from all sensors to be relayed in the form of alarms and help requests to the most appropriate of external agencies whether it be for medical, police or technical maintenance.

Domestically is where we may see the greatest attraction in smart homes. Anything that can save us time on the mundane chores we all have to do will be good news, won't it? While at the moment my cooker has an IQ of, well zero, and the chance of it talking to the fridge is at best slim, this may be all about to change.

• Wireless applications will allow you to turn on or preset the cooker remotely.
• Fridges will be able to check barcodes to note when daily necessities are missing from the fridge or if the ingredients for today's supper are still in the supermarket. The fridge will then be able to deliver a shopping list to the local supermarket.
• The supermarket will be able to deliver the goods if you are out, leaving them in a secure (specifically cooled) deposit area incorporated into the structure of your house.
• The first Internet fridges already exist. Not only does it note what's in the fridge but will also suggest recipes you could conjure using them. It can also surf the net, play MP3's and e-mail digital photos.
• Alarm clocks will tell the electric blanket to turn on 10 minutes before it goes off, and then start the coffee maker for you. The alarm will scan the Internet and find you weather and traffic reports, delivered to your bedside table.
• Weight scales and blood pressure monitors will chart your health and fitness and provide your doctor or health centre with progress reports.
• Digital paper will revolutionise home decoration with its ability to change appearance on demand. Long gone will be the tester pots of paint from the DIY store. Video, sensory and tactile systems will allow bathrooms and bedrooms to be turned into South Pacific beaches or tropical rain forests.

New technology and the linking of existing systems will allow for great saving in terms of energy - much needed with the current change in climate we are experiencing.

Smart-gel windows will react to the outside conditions. Aero-gels, flexible insulation which is 99% air and looks like frozen smoke will provide insulation when needed.

Smart controls will set, monitor and adjust heating controls to maximise efficiency. Smart technology will learn the way a building responds to heating conditions and adjust accordingly.

The heating system will respond to outside weather conditions and predictions received via the Internet.

Much of all these technological wonders seem a long way off. Especially when you think that toasters aren't all that clever. Even if they had the ability to communicate, would they be able to do so with white goods from other manufacturers? Probably not, as all the technology is kept very closely guarded. This is the main reason that our household appliances don't yet have social lives.

So for smart home to really develop they must learn to communicate. The hot favourite to become the preferred language of smart media is IP (Internet Protocol).

A few years ago, the only thing that most electrical goods had in common was a plug. Today, manufactures are waking up to the market opportunities that bringing simplicity and continuity to consumers will open. The first inter-device communications have already appeared for printers and other PC add-ons.

Sony has its Bluetooth technology planned for launch in 2001. This will allow the first communications between mobile phones and PC's and it looks to be the start of a long road to connectivity. Soon, a person working on a PC in the study will be able to print a document in the lounge.

However, this represents only a small part of what wireless applications will be able to offer. For starters, the present 10m range of wireless devices will be extended to 2100m and allow the connection of IP enabled devices such as fridges and VCR's to PC's or a keypads using 'soft keys'.

Many great ideas have failed over the past ten years. Some because they are simply too complicated, others because they intrude on our personal lives.The question has to be asked. Do we really want the fridge guessing what we want to eat? I don't know anyone that doesn't pick up at least one impulse buy in the supermarket. Will the smart home become just a little too intelligent and annoying to really transform our lives?

What exactly would George Orwell make of all this? Surely intelligent houses run the risk of simply becoming annoying, second-guessing our every thought and whim? Will techno-rage replace road rage when your home fails to obey your commands?

A recent report by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation suggested that will 4 out of ten households will be smart within ten years, with 2 out of 3 people worried about smart appliances malfunctioning and being able to override the system. But that doesn't seem to out weigh some of the possible features taking off. Some of the most popular ideas included the security and safety features of Smart Homes technology, which appealed to 70 per cent of consumers. A further 59 per cent saw benefits in having remote access to the equipment in their homes.

So while the future is connected, many still have reservations. But it's not just this that may restrict the growth in smart homes. They cost. And they cost a lot. Adding smart technology to your home could cost upwards of £20,000. And there's not that many being built. As the American market matures they may begin to see some economies of scale, and push production in the UK.

No doubt cost will fall and smart technology will become commonplace regardless of whether we really want it or not. But then again, if it saves time and is easy to use, we may as well take advantage of it. Opening the fridge is only interesting if there are interesting things inside. A carton of milk doesn't really inspire but perhaps a fridge with a personality and able to tell you the football scores would do.