How many times have you locked the house and then realized that you've forgotten to switch off your room lights, or reached work and then wondered if you turned off the gas. We have all had memory lapses, some really costly ones too. Of course with the new age automated homes, these mistakes have become far and few, because now you have home automation devices that are capable of tying up these loose ends for you at the press of a button or even a clap of a hand.

Automated homes make your life easier by empowering you to take control of your household appliances. It makes your home secured and energy efficient and it also makes sure every family member gets his share of entertainment at his convenient time. All this is made possible through computers, microchips, television, voice synthesis, and solid-state circuitry. The technology allows you to completely customize your home with the latest in high tech security, home entertainment systems, portable computing (utilizing a built-in wireless router), automated lighting systems, and home climate control systems. In simple words home automation is a process, which gives you a remote or automatic control of things around the home.

Home automation can be applied to a variety of home applications like lighting, appliances, air conditioning, security and monitoring systems, entertainment and communications. 'Smart' or 'intelligent' homes offer an all-inclusive integrated network of all devices inside and outside of the house that can be operated through a uniform operation interface using devices like a PDA, PC or a TV screen.

Flash your smart card and open the door with the key as you normally do. The lobby light will come up and the digital home gateway will greet you with your own pre-recorded greeting. All external doors, balconies, terraces and certain windows have been covered under the surveillance of various devices to detect any intrusion.

While you are away, devices placed outside as well as inside your home keep the track of intruders. If an intruder tries to force the entry through door or window, an alarm will go off alerting the neighbours and watchman at the security gate, and actions which you have configured will be performed such as sending an SMS, email or a voice call to your mobile or any other pre-defined number.

Your visitor's arrival at security gate is informed to you through a colour display and you can talk to the visitor. If you are not at home, the visitor's image is forwarded from the gate to either your display at home or on your handheld, so you know who had come to meet you. As your guest approaches your apartment, the door camera will detect his motion and show live video on your screen, you can converse with your visitor and open the door either from LCD display or from any room with a wireless keypad or from a special bedside switch.

You also have an emergency pendant, which you can give your grandma. In case of emergency, all she has to do is press the emergency button on the pendant; you, the watchman at the security gate, a neighbour or any other family will immediately be alerted by an auto phone call.

Going on a trip and not sure whether you turned off the gas, lights, geyser? You can do that over the Internet or even from your mobile. Of course, if you are not so forgetful, just press a key while leaving, and the home will be put in locked mode, with lights, gas switched off and many more configurable actions performed.