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Matsushita of Japan has built a prototype intelligent house that can be used
as a testbed for future home automation technologies. Each room has at least one
computer linked by optical fibre to a central server that is connected to the
outside world via a modem. Even the toilet is computerised: it acquires data
about a user’s weight and urine sugar content for uploading to a doctor’s
surgery. The server also keeps track of food-buying habits, so the household
food inventory can be accessed remotely while shopping.