Men have been living in caves since the Stone Age. Those caves were actually, well, caves, complete with petroglyphs, stone tools, and perhaps the skulls of a sabre-toothed tiger or two.

But just as man has evolved, so has the man cave. Technology enables men to create sports sanctuaries, elegant studies and offices, kid-friendly caves and much more. So just for fun, let’s take a look at several different options for creating a technologically advanced man cave that will satisfy a man’s need for a space all his own.

1. Automation

OK, we admit that automation isn’t necessarily a type of man cave, but it makes the list (in first position!) for good reason. Like we said, men have evolved—do you really want to build a man cave in 2017 where you have to use your hands to turn on the lights? That’s practically barbaric.

But the home man cave automation options available today go way beyond the ability to turn on your lights with a smartphone or voice control. Control4 has a handy list of 78 different ideas for home automation—here are a couple of our favorites adapted for life in the man cave:

Tune your TV routine – Have your man cave TV automatically turn on to your favorite channel when you enter the room

Keep it cool – Program shades and drapes to open/close automatically based on the position of the sun and room occupancy

Keep the party going – Use your iPad to tell the refrigerator when you’re running out of ice, so it will increase production

Get in the zone – Create a music scene for different activities—smooth jazz for late-night work sessions or heavy metal for workouts—your call!

2. Mood/Party/Productivity Lighting

The on/off limitations are long gone, and we’re not just talking about dimmers. If your man cave doubles as a home theater, you’ll need different light settings for movie watching vs. playing games of pool. No need to squint to see that 8-ball—set a lighting scene for maximum visibility during billiards.

And of course, what man cave would be complete without a wet bar? Sure, you could set the mood with a dim setting, but don’t stop there! How about some colored lighting that bounces to the beat of your music—we want to party with this guy.

3. Intercom

The modern man cave is adaptable. If your cave is kid-friendly, you’ll want to install a video intercom. This allows you to call the kiddos down for dinner, shout “No rough-housing!” virtually, and control security features of the room. Or, if the play session has turn quiet, a little too quiet, tune in via the camera and see what sort of mischief they’re up to.

4. Teleconferencing

There’s no rule that says you can’t use your man cave for work. In fact, perhaps your man cave is more of a study. Install a state-of-the-art teleconferencing with premium microphones and reliable connectivity so there are no interruptions to your meeting. Hey, the smoother your teleconferencing meetings go, the more you can work from home!

5. Outdoor Entertainment

Temporary, pop-up man caves outdoors! Great for neighborhood movie nights in the summer, Super Bowl parties, or just another excuse to get outdoors while maintaining the comforts of technology. You’ll be slightly more limited, feature-wise, than what you could do indoors, but there’s still a lot of options for tech-ing up your outdoor space.

So what do you think—did we miss any man caves features you’d like to see? Let us know in the comment section below.

And as always, if you have any questions or would like to talk with a man cave technology expert, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us!