You are sitting on the couch watching a movie on the wall. The movie is interrupted
discretely by an icon fl ashing in the
corner of the screen. You look at your remote and a
message is displayed telling you that there could be a fi re in the back room. With a simple command you switch from the movie to a thermal image of the back room, and you can see a hot spot. You change to an optical view to see your son has lit a cigarette. Do you call him and tell him to stop or simply instruct the vents to suck the smoke out of the room? It's up to you. At least it's nothing serious and you can get on with your movie.
The adage ‘the walls have ears' will be that much closer to the truth in the future. Well – not so much ears, but they will be covered in paint embedded with microscopic nanotech devices that will provide pervasive sensing and regulatory systems that will permeate the physical infrastructure of the building.
Such a wall will not look any different most of the time, but integrated nano systems will be able to do things like control the lights and room temperature, monitor security, entertainment and IT systems, and even activate alarms when an occupant is unwell or in distress.
Some surfaces may have displays integrated into them that only become visible when active. Say goodbye to that ugly black box in the corner that was the TV of our recent past. Say goodbye to five remotes jostling for space on your coffee table. Say goodbye to separate PC, TV, telephones and game machines. Integration of these systems has already begun, as readers will be well aware, but the show is not over, not by a long way.
So how can these things be possible? Nanotechnology is the answer. Nanoscience studies how the physical properties of many materials change at the nanometre scale (one billionth of a metre), compared with those measured at the human scale. These properties might include the way a material conducts electricity or heat, the way it interacts with light, or its strength and wear resistance. These size dependant phenomena present the opportunity to develop a wide variety of new materials and products, known as nanotechnologies.
CSIRO and the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) are developing a model housing system that shows how the new materials, products and processes that are emerging from nanotechnology research and development might be applied to our living environment. The project covers glass, timber, fibres, polymers, ceramics, metals; all materials that co-exist within the built environment.
The NanoHouse™ Initiative was conceived to explain what nanotechnologies are and how they work – to demonstrate how, for example, windows clean themselves, tiles resist build up of soap scum and timber surfaces resist UV damage. By using heat reflecting paint, a roof becomes a cooling element in a building rather than a source of unwanted heat gain.
Nanotechnology allows the use of a whole palette of materials in ways that were not possible before. For instance, more glass can be used if the glass is optically tuned to block heat and UV. It is possible to construct a building with many more and larger windows than is commonly used, since the heat can be kept out and the photodamage of UV prevented. Reduction of the solar heat gain through windows reduces the need for cooling via air conditioning, saving electricity. Elimination of UV damage means curtains and upholstery won't fade in the sunlight.
