XSTIG: Design students contribute to building thoughtful homes

Imagine this: You had an exhausting day at school and you can’t wait to get home and rest. On your way home, the weather was unpredictable and the pollution in the streets was horrible. As you enter your room, you realize that it is not as spotless as you hoped it was. You come in to the kitchen to find good food, but you find nothing on the dining table. You had a draining day and the last thing you would want to do is take care of the household chores.

As you let out a weary sigh, you realize that your home appliances can take care of all these. You see the MAB cleaner scanning your house and deploying its flying mini-robots to the areas in need of cleaning. Meanwhile, an Atonium 3D Food Printer has determined your nutritional needs and is working on a healthy meal for you. At the same time, the Breathing Wall started to purify the air while recreating an environment that will help you relive a happy memory. Imagine this futuristic scenario made possible by you.

This advanced home is the brainchild of the top three winners at last year’s Electrolux Design Lab competition.

REEL DEAL Movies and Television: In Time Review

In a future where time is literally money, and aging stops at 25, the only way to stay alive is to earn, steal, or inherit more time. Will Salas lives life a minute at a time, until a windfall of time gives him access to the world of the wealthy, where he teams up with a beautiful young heiress to destroy the corrupt system.


When Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) is falsely accused of murder, he must figure out a way, with the help of a beautiful hostage (Amanda Seyfried), to bring down a system where time is money -- literally -- enabling the wealthy to live forever while the poor, like Will, have to beg, borrow, and steal enough minutes to make it through another day.