As the classic line in the animated series Futurama goes: Welcome to the world of tomorrow!

We’re all a little guilty of believing what we see in Hollywood movies and countless other TV shows. We imagine the futuristic home to have robots that help us do the chores. Full-size robots that are similar in height and weight – but obviously ten times stronger than us – can help vacuum, clean the windows, or wash the car. And if I told you that if you follow Boston Dynamics you could have your wish granted sooner than you think.

But for now, what a modern home looks like is automation.

Think about almost any home appliance. Now imagine you could control them by a swipe of your finger. But wait! You don’t have to imagine because this technology is already here. It’s kind of like upgrading smartphones from a mobile phone you had from ages ago. You finally use the new one and feel like you were living in the stone age up until this point. That’s what you’re going to feel like once you use these smart home innovations.

For starters, bedside lamps are so last century.

We are now a species that has so much technology in our pockets that we almost can’t predict where smartphone technology will go next. However, for our homes we want something that’s a little more reliable and sturdy when it comes to a bedside light. Sure we have torch apps that turn on the LED light in our smartphones, but this isn’t very practical.

Instead, we have options like the Elgato Avea Flare.

It’s a smart LED lamp that you may control with your IOS and Android devices. In fact, you can control 10 of them at once with just your phone. It comes with an app you install and with no practice required at all, you can create different and changing moods in your home. One static bold color or choose several themes which slowly flicker in and out. It can also function as an alarm that awakens when the sun comes up or the set time you choose. It’s efficient and costs much less in bills than normal energy saving bulbs.

Don’t forget they can hear us.

Human beings are now being joined by robots in homes. No, not an iRobot kind of robot, a voice automated tool. Voice-controlled devices are great for doing all sorts of things. You’ve most probably seen the Amazon Echo advertisements and see it as perhaps the staple of what can be achieved in this form of technology. Yet on A Connected Home, there is a brief article on the different voice-controlled devices out there on the market right now.

Google Now is something that is little known to many people.

Actually, its simple voice control technology is taken from the hands-free from their smartphones, and can be incorporated for Nest thermostats. Another great little home robot is Athom Homey. It’s a little white sphere shaped device that you can connect your Facebook, Google Assistant, and Amazon Echo too. You simply give it commands and it updates you on all those other apps.

The world of tomorrow gets closer and closer every day.

We’re almost there but for now, enjoy the gadgets and gizmos we have. Try out some of the more recent devices, and let me know how it goes! Once you get used to the smart lighting and even smarter devices, you no longer have to lift a finger to do the simple things around your home.

Have other cool technology you use in your home? Tell us about it in the comments!