Smart Home Exhibition

“Smart Home – Sweet Home?” is an exhibition organized by the Salzburg Chamber of Labor in collaboration with Ars Electronica Solutions. Since October 2019, it has been on display in Salzburg and at several district offices of the Chamber of Labor. For a year, visitors were able to experience how digitization affects their own homes and how it changes our everyday lives.

Opportunities and risks of the smart home

The smart home promises greater comfort. It offers more security. And it saves time. At the same time, concerns are growing. Many people think about data protection. Others fear the “transparent household.” Dependence on energy and internet providers is also viewed critically. The exhibition shows both sides. It informs. And it encourages reflection.

Interactive installations by Garamantis

Smart technologies in everyday life are explained in five thematic areas. This is done with interactive installations and understandable examples. Garamantis created a large part of these exhibits on behalf of Ars Electronica Solutions. This makes technology directly tangible. And complex content is conveyed in a simple way.

Eye tracking: The dream pizza reads your gaze

An eye-tracking system under a screen analyzes the eye movements of visitors. The installation “Mind-reading Dream Pizza” uses this data. Various pizza ingredients appear on the display. Anyone who looks at an ingredient for longer unconsciously shows interest. The system recognizes these preferences and automatically puts together a personalized pizza. This raises a key question: Does the smart home of the future already know what we want before we know it ourselves?

Smart Mirror: The digital mirror in the bathroom

There is an interactive smart mirror in the bathroom. It activates as soon as you step on the scale in front of it. Current news, personal information, and your weight then appear in the mirror. In conjunction with fitness trackers and calendar data, this creates a networked information system. The digital home thus constantly provides relevant data. And it accompanies everyday life in real time.

Emotion recognition in 3D

A 3D stereo camera automatically recognizes facial expressions and emotions. The mood of visitors is analyzed and displayed on a screen. Guests can view their camera image in 3D with red-blue glasses. They can then take a printout with them—including mood analysis. In this way, the exhibition combines technology, experience, and reflection in a simple and understandable way.

Photos: Ars Electronica / My Trinh Müller-Gardiner