About The Program

Welcome to The George Washington University Home of the 21st Century (H21C) Research Laboratory. This partnership between the university and corporate community leaders explores the adaptation of new technologies for a more personalized, efficient, and secure home life. At the University’s research and technology campus in Loudoun County, Virginia, a simulated home environment is the H21C Laboratory where graduate students and faculty from the School of Engineering and Applied Science are creating a prototype home operating system— HomeOS—for a smart home. The goal: a highly personalized, contextaware home environment that knows your preferences, anticipates your needs, and reacts to a variety of situations appropriately, a home where communication and control are as close as your computer, cell phone, or personal digital assistant.

H21C began in 2001 as the AOL Home of the 21st Century with America Online, Inc. as the founding partner and with support from Virginia’s Center for Innovative Technology. As the project now moves from initial research to a seamless integration of smart house technologies and a future of innovative applications, the University welcomes other corporate leaders of the community to share the excitement and opportunities of collaborative research.

Never before in the history of technology have such opportunities existed to customize the living environment for convenience, efficiency, personal safety, home security, media enjoyment, and remote management. The possibilities for imaginative use of pervasive computing, RFID sensors, and JAVA phone technology are endless. Imagine a place where HomeOS is programmed to learn your preferences and those of the other members of the household and dutifully activate them at the appropriate time.

• Recognizes you and unlocks the door when you merely step on the welcome mat.
• Automatically sets the temperature and lighting to your liking, while your favorite music or TV program follows you from room to room.
• Logs on to your computer desktop and retrieves your e-mail when you approach the screen.
• Childproofs areas of the home so that cabinets and closets with dangerous objects automatically lock whenever a child walks into the room.
• Locate people and objects in the house.
• Alert you in the event of intrusion, fire, and other hazards.
• Monitor children and elderly or disabled family members through the use of sensors and cameras.
• Operate your kitchen appliances and tell you what’s in your refrigerator or pantry.
• Change your personal preferences.
• Extend your preferences into your car with streaming data carrying your favorite music, your e-mail, and your GPS settings.