What is a "Smart House"?
The Drexel Smart House is a unique multidisciplinary project working toward the goal of creating a building that functions like a home and serves as a laboratory to continually conduct research on innovations to the home experience. Home design and technology has not seen many advances since the refrigerator and air conditioning. The Drexel Smart House plans to change that. By implementing the creative ideas of young minds, under the guidance of experienced teachers, the Drexel Smart House will provide an exemplary model and testing environment of an improved approach to home life while specifically improving the lives of the individuals inhabiting the house.

Drexel Smart House will create an unmatched opportunity for a large group of dedicated students from diverse fields within the university to work toward a common goal and to see the results of their work. Through student-led (undergraduate and graduate from all colleges and majors) research and design, the Drexel Smart House will explore the areas of health and wellness, environmental interactions, efficiency, entertainment and communications. Ultimately, this research and design will be implemented into an urban home where involved students will live, thereby studying the effectiveness of the new ideas and proving the benefit of the Smart House.

The project will provide an outstanding example for what the urban home of the future should look like and will show how quality of life can improve through smart design and technology: simplifying daily life, decreasing a person's environmental impact, and providing a healthier home.