First smart home ever

Now it’s hard to surprise someone with a “smart home“, as it has become an everyday concept. But there were times when all this was a real miracle. Who and when was the first owner of the “smart home” system?  What was it like?

The first smart-controlled house appeared in Tokyo, Japan, in 1989. This is not at all surprising, because the Japanese are famous for their ingenuity and technical skills. The owner of this innovative construction, called the “Tron Project”, was Ken Sakamura, a computer science teacher. The housing area was 333 square meters!

Its main feature was the use of innovative technologies in the house itself, which at the time was a very revolutionary idea. The security cameras were equipped with temperature and humidity sensors. This provided live weather data to the program. This served as a command to close or open windows, turn on/off the air conditioning or heating. In addition, these sensors would automatically open the windows, if they detected good weather on the outside of the house.

The “House of the Throne” was equipped with a panel to give orders to the home automation system.  For example, Ken never had to worry about forgetting to lock his house, because when leaving home, it was enough to press the “exit” button on the control panel for the front door to lock automatically.

The audio system was equipped with sensors and system level or to reduce volume during a telephone conversation. The lighting system, like everything else, had its own characteristics. It could be customized by scenes: bright, party light, or dim for quiet and cozy gatherings. And when the residents went to bed, the lights all over the house went out.

Ken Sakamura appreciated the natural materials, such as Japanese wood and stone were used to build the house. The interior was made in the traditional Japanese style, without frills and with many natural building materials. Professor Sakamura managed to make an incredible advance in the field of engineering and to combine advanced technology with a warm and homely atmosphere.