Gleaming hardwood floors. Recessed lighting. Computers gathering data on every flick of a switch, flush of a toilet, or opening of a cabinet. It's all in an apartment nearing completion in Cambridge, MA, that doubles as PlaceLab, whose creators say it's the world's most elaborate residential laboratory for studying how people interact with their homes. Packed with discreetly installed sensors, microphones, and cameras, it's a lab for prototypes and testing health-care systems, smart appliances, the latest environmental controls, and whatever else companies and academics want to study.

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