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Watch this 58-minute Christmas lecture from 1988 where Professor Gareth Roberts explores the technological innovations that transformed homes into "smart" environments. Discover how inventions like the telegraph, telephone, and radio telegraph revolutionized domestic communication, with British scientists playing pivotal roles in these nineteenth-century breakthroughs. Learn about the evolution from Alexander Graham Bell's early telephone designs to modern cordless systems, and examine how application-specific networks like programmable central heating thermostats began automating household functions. Explore Roberts' forward-looking predictions about home automation, including the revolutionary concept of remotely controlling home systems from miles away - a vision that seemed futuristic in 1988 but has become today's reality. Gain insights into how the combination of scientific progress and market demands drove the development of innovative home products, and understand the historical context of domestic technology evolution through demonstrations of classic discoveries and inventions that laid the foundation for modern smart homes.
