Houses that think

Cutting-edge technology developers are gearing up for the day when appliances in Chinese homes will interact with the Internet, Satarupa Bhattacharjya and Sun Yuanqing report.

A refrigerator that can tell fresh food from stale, and a light bulb that switches off on cue from other energy-saving bulbs in a housing community, are elements of an era awaiting China. In the coming years, new home appliances are expected to sprout that will "think" for themselves, prompted by devices on an integrated wireless platform. The resulting "smart home" will make people's lives smoother, its promoters say.

Some companies expect a smartphone and a router to be all it will take to remotely control homes - whether securing the doors or guarding against pollution - even from locations outside the country, with the exception of space, perhaps.