Hands-free use of various home appliances and lighting! Two sets of reader monitors who infiltrated the smart home "Manazuru House" and a "future lifestyle" experience report

Commonly known as "Manazuru House" in Manazuru-cho, Kanagawa. It's not just fancy, it's actually built as a complete smart home model. Two families were among the first to experience the interior of a room where various home appliances are connected to the Internet, can be operated by voice, and have realized IoT that moves automatically. What is the new way of living that changes with the corona misfortune? While thinking about it, I will report on the state of the trial session.

Smart home in Manazuru, Kanagawa (provided by Living Tech Association)

What is "Manazuru House" with the latest home appliances?

Manazuru-cho, located in the southwestern part of Kanagawa, about an hour and a half by train from Tokyo, is a small port town facing Sagami Bay. Abundant. It is also a popular villa area where the late Tatsuo Umemiya, known for his love of fishing, spent his later years, and there are many immigrants from Tokyo.

"Manazuru House", which is located by the sea in a 5-minute drive from Manazuru Station, is a model house built for the purpose of promoting suburban living for salaried workers and promoting the spread of smart homes. "World Housing Club", which handles housing kit sales platform, including housing construction material manufacturer "YKK AP", and "Living Tech Association", which has many companies as its mission to "enrich life with technology". This is a notable project that we are working on together. This time, an event was held at "Manazuru House" to invite two families of monitors to experience new home appliances and forms of living. It was the first time for both of them to experience a full-fledged smart home.

"Wow~ Nice build! Awesome. It looks like a hotel~"

　Families who visited "Manazuru House", where you can see the deep blue Sagami Bay on a sunny day, were surprised. The participants that day were Mr. and Mrs. Uchiyama and Mr. Fukutome, two close friends.

Tadayuki Uchiyama (52 years old) and his wife Junko (47 years old)

Naoki Fukutome (42 years old), Aoi-chan (4 years old), Yorito-kun (8 years old), Keiko (41 years old)

In a one-story wooden house with a site area of ​​175 square meters (53 tsubo) where bright light pours in, home appliances and housing equipment are connected to the Internet, hands-free operation can be performed by voice, and the lighting and curtains can be opened and closed automatically. It is designed to be close to the lives of the residents.

First of all, a washbasin is installed as soon as you open the entrance, and a "nanoe" generator embedded in the ceiling keeps the air clean at all times, considering the growing awareness of hygiene due to the corona disaster.

"Since the habit of washing my hands has become established, I can wash my hands first when I get home," said Junko.

　The working space is on the right after entering the entrance, and Naoki-san, who has increased his work from home due to the corona crisis, is also very interested.

A neat workspace where all cables are stored (courtesy: Living Tech Association)

　The workspace is separate from the living room, so you can separate your life and work, and you can concentrate on your work as well.

Experience the latest home appliances in a hotel-like living room

When you go down the gentle stairs through the corridor, you will find a high-ceilinged, open, hotel-like living space. Start with an explanation of the latest smart home appliances installed in the room.

Living with the concept of an extraordinary hotel-like living room (provided by Living Tech Association)

First, we received a lecture on smart home appliances from the person in charge of each manufacturer and challenged the settings. Mr. Daisuke Takesako of iRobot Japan G.K. The photo is "Rumba i3+" (79,800 yen, tax included). A model with a clean base that automatically sucks up dust from the main body's dust container and stores it in a sealed paper pack. The faceplate is also a stylish fabric.

Smart speaker "Amazon Echo series (Amazon Echo series)" (Amazon Japan G.K.) that can be operated in various ways by saying "Alexa, do ○○", smart lighting "Philips Hue (Amazon Echo series)" that can be remotely controlled with a smartphone "Hugh" (Signify Japan G.K.), and "Roomba" (Irobot Japan G.K.), which automatically cleans itself, are said to make life more convenient by connecting them to the latest smart home appliances.

Just say, "Alexa, I'm going!" and the curtains will automatically close, the lights will turn off, and Roomba will suddenly start to clean while you're out.

When you go home, say "Alexa, I'm home" and the lighting "Hue" will change to a warm light, or "Alexa, good morning" will change to a bright light suitable for waking up in the morning. The lighting switches automatically according to the life scene of the family.

Mr. Yuichi Uno of Signify Japan G.K. Lighting installed behind the TV can also be linked to images and music to create a sense of presence.

The photo is "Philips Hue White Gradation Starter Set" (16,280 yen, tax included). Tunable light from warm white to cool white light. Easy to operate via app, voice recognition, dimmer switch, and full functionality via Hue bridge.

Mr. and Mrs. Uchiyama said setting up the smart speaker was easier than they thought.

From everyone who experienced the latest smart home appliances,

"It's nice to be able to turn off the lights with a single voice. It's a little stressful to have to get out of bed and futon and turn off the lights when you sleep in your bedroom." (Junko)

Keiko said, "If the lights are dimmed to create a nighttime atmosphere, the children may go to sleep. The imagination of the scene to use at home expands.

"Smart speakers are cute, and by talking to them, you'll grow more attached to them." (Junko)

The photo is of the Echo Dot 4th generation with clock (6,980 yen, tax included) in twilight blue. The cute spherical design accents the interior. A smart speaker that delivers rich sound with clear vocals and balanced bass.

"It seems to be useful for practicing multiplication tables, doing various research, and studying for children. When I'm alone at home, I can connect from my smartphone and ask, 'Did you do your homework?' It might be a good place to check things out (laughter),” says Keiko.

Ms. Misako Furuya of Amazon Japan G.K. presenting how to use the "Amazon Echo series". “You can set a timer by saying something like 'Alexa, set a timer for 3 minutes,'” she says.

"I've been interested in smart speakers for a long time because my elderly mother lives alone, so I thought it would be convenient to be able to use them. I feel like I was pushed.” (Tadayuki)

"My older sister who lives in the United States uses it to communicate with her parents, and she said it's very convenient," says Keiko, who also wants to use it to communicate with her parents who live far away.

The eldest son, Yorihito, is also curious

　In addition, you can also experience the smart home appliance remote control "eRemote5" (Link Japan Co., Ltd.), which allows you to consolidate all the operations of devices such as smart speakers and lighting on your smartphone.

"As the number of home appliances increases, the number of remote controls also increases, so it's really convenient to be able to consolidate them into one" (Naoki)

　The children enjoyed touching the latest smart home appliances, saying, "It was fun to see the color of the lights change!" (Yorito).

Check out the video of the event on the day (https://www.ltajapan.com/project/pjt002/)

Possibilities of "smart homes" that change lives due to the corona crisis

At the "Manazuru House" experience session, Yoichi Ikemoto, editor-in-chief of the housing information site "SUUMO" and director of the SUUMO Research Center ( Mr. Ikemoto) was invited as a guest and a discussion was held.

A round-table discussion was conducted by Azusa Tagata (third from the left in the photo) of the Living Tech Association. “What I want from my home has changed after the coronavirus.” (Mr. Ikemoto, 4th from the left)

Living Tech Association PR, Azusa Tagata (hereafter, Mr. Tagata): Has there been any change in the way you live due to the corona wreck?

Naoki: Remote work has definitely increased, and the way we work has changed a lot. Now that I have more time, I thought it would be a good idea to start an allotment farm for food education for children, but they don't seem to be very interested (laughs).

Junko: At home, my husband is busy with medical equipment, but my college daughter and I have more time at home. I spent more time at home, so I took care of the flower bed in the garden so that the dog could play, and had a barbecue in the garden with my family.

Mr. Ikemoto: After experiencing the corona disaster, the options for where to live and work have diversified. In the past, the style was to find a place to live near your work or workplace first, but with the advancement of remote work, home time comes first, and work is now part of your life. became.

In the past, it was a way of thinking called "work style reform" that was based on work, but now that remote work has taken root, I have come to think about class before work. We call this "classical reform". You can work anywhere, so you have more options, such as living in a land with abundant nature like Manazuru. I think it's become clear what I want to cherish in life.

Junko: I've always wanted to live in a place rich in nature, so I don't think it was a mistake to choose a country life (already) with lots of greenery and a large garden. .

Tadayuki: I used to love the city (laughs), but now I really like this way of life. It's close to the highway interchange, and it's easy to go to the city center for work.

Ikemoto: Certainly, in the past, "close to the station" in the city was popular, but if you live in a rural area, "close to the high-speed interchange" may be a point of choosing a house.

Mr. Tagata: Why don't you try smart home appliances?

Naoki-san: I thought I wouldn't be able to use it because the settings and operations were difficult, but I'm glad I was able to experience it today. The hurdle has been lowered.

Keiko: I live in a two-family house with my parents, and we use solar power, but in the future it would be nice if it could be linked to a smart speaker and controlled by voice. .

Junko: Once you set up your home appliance to connect to the internet, you can use it intuitively. I only vaguely understood it, and was a little worried that I would be charged all the time, but that wasn't the case.

Mr. Tagata: The lights turn off automatically, so there is no need to leave the lights on all the time, and family fights have decreased. Children can check the weather and temperature with smart speakers and prepare their own clothes There is also a voice. There is also the fact that the results of an Internet survey conducted by our association in August showed that the “richness index” of family life has risen.

Mr. Ikemoto: Wouldn't it be great if the curtains opened automatically and you could wake up comfortably with natural light? Things that move people's emotions, such as comfort, fun, and excitement, will become established in our lives. If kids enjoy studying with smart speakers, moms don't have to constantly tell them to study and go to bed early.

Keiko: Raising children is really a race against time, and sometimes I end up scolding and blaming myself.

Mr. Ikemoto: Just like the shift from Garake to smartphones, when technology becomes a substitute for something, it spreads all at once. I think that by taking over the actions that we used to do, our lives will become much more enjoyable and enriching.

Tadayuki-san: I have a day off from work tomorrow, so I want to try it at home soon!

Smart homes, where various devices can be connected to increase the smiles of family members, are likely to become more familiar in the future. This time, @DIME will report again on how the products that the two families experienced at "Manazuru House" were actually used at home.

[Data] "Manazuru House" Manazuru-cho, Ashigarashimo-gun, Kanagawa Prefecture Official website (inside HiL/HiL TOWN): https://home-i-land.jp/Site area: 175㎡ (53 tsubo) Total floor space Area: 77.67 m² (23.45 tsubo) Structure: Single-story wooden frame construction method + panel construction method

Photography / Yuji Ito Interview / Text / Maki Mochida