Watching TV in the kitchen window

A bay window that's also a home entertainment centre, invisible insect screens, downloading recipes to the kitchen window or watching TV on the same "screen" while washing the dishes - these are some of the products imagined by US window manufacturer Anderson. Known as "Project Odyssey", the aim is to reinvent the window as the key interface between the home and the outside world, just as it was for almost two millennia before television and modern communication media turned the tables.

The first products under development include an "invisible" insect screen and a micro-ventilation window. The "ClearSite" next-generation insect screen will enable management of light transmission and reflection, as well as increasing the amount of air and light entering the home while preventing even tiny insects from passing through. The micro-ventilation window would integrate vents in the interior and exterior frame of the window airflow can be established without compromising security in the home.

Multi-media window concepts that could see the convergence of television and our view of the front yard include the "SlideAway" media window concept with an embedded, touch-screen computer that slides into a pocket in the window frame when not in use and "ViewPoint", a bay window that doubles as a home entertainment centre complete with flanking casement windows serve that as speakers. Potentially each of these concepts could also become the family's primary home automation interface.