Around The Home ~ NEW GEN TECH LIFE : new generation technology news

Around The Home

Samsung has announced the launch of Samsung Smart Home
An explosion in the number of devices connected to the internet is expected over the next decade and in turn, our homes will become increasingly "smart." With this in mind, Samsung has today announced its own Smart Home service, which will provide home automation via an app.  Read More
The Honda Mean Mower has set a new Guinness World Record as the fastest lawnmower
Cutting the lawn can be a tedious chore, so no-one wants to be doing it for longer than they must. The bods at Honda obviously feel the same way. The Honda Mean Mower has broken a Guinness World Record to become the world's fastest lawnmower.  Read More
The new Philips clear LED bulb
It's no secret that LED bulbs are far more efficient than traditional incandescent lights. One drawback, though, is a different look than the bulbs that people are accustomed to. Philips has just launched a new clear LED bulb that features the traditional light bulb shape and look, but with the efficiency benefits of modern offerings.  Read More
Click and Grow has launched its Smart Herb Garden
It's always useful to have fresh herbs to hand in the kitchen, but they can easily wither if not well-fed and watered. Click and Grow wanted to overcome this problem. Its Smart Herb Garden is now available. It plugs into the wall and lets users grow their herbs without having to lift a finger.  Read More
Hue tap allows users control over their hue light bulbs without using their smart device
Looking to add further functionality to its range of smartphone-controlled hue LED light bulbs, Philips has announced a kinetic-powered switch to extend control over color settings at times when your smart device might be out of reach.  Read More
OCHO Pad connects objects to people
Wireless technology and mobile gadgets have made it easier for us to track and control our personal belongings. One of the latest technologies being developed for this market connects not only objects, but also the people who use them. OCHO Pad is a wired-up tray that uses NFC or infrared technology not only to identify keys, wallets, or phones, but also to mediate communication between members of a household.  Read More
The SmartMat is a Wi-Fi enabled device designed to fit under a regular doormat
We've got smart doorbells, smart locks and smart door handles, so why not a smart doormat? Dr. Andrew Clark has created just such a device called, surprisingly enough, the SmartMat. Designed to be placed under a regular doormat, the SmartMat acts as a pressure sensor and features Wi-Fi connectivity to allow actions to be triggered when someone steps on it.  Read More
BrewNanny is designed to be used as a tool to guide the hobbyist in refining their beer cr...
While a mouthful of home-brewed beer delivers a certain degree of satisfaction for hobbyists and expert craftsmen alike, seeing the hops, yeast and water come together to create a refreshing drop can take some serious know-how and even more serious man-hours. BrewNanny is a device designed to help ease the burden by using built-in sensors to monitor and offer guidance throughout the brewing process.  Read More
Creative children will be able to furnish their whole room using Olla
Given even the smallest opportunity to get creative, kids will invariably take it. This is why modular furniture designed to appeal exclusively to children is potentially such a good idea. Olla is just that, offering children of all ages the opportunity to build their own Lego-style furniture.  Read More
The Kitchen Becomes Open! project is seeking out 10 budding designers to workshop sustaina...
Italian design firm Valcucine is looking to turn its showroom at next month's Milan Design Week into a collaborative space by seeking out 10 budding designers to workshop sustainable modifications to its Meccanica kitchen concept. The "Kitchen Becomes Open!" project is set to take place over six days and will fundamentally be an open-source venture from start to finish. Participants will work with a team of experts to develop ideas and ultimately make them freely available for distribution and modification.  Read More

Green Spirit Creations saw an opportunity to create environmentally-friendly products usin...
UK-based Green Spirit Creations is the latest team to try its hand at paper-based lighting solutions. Seeking out discarded materials from local shop-owners, its stylish household lamps are made from 100 percent recycled cardboard (bulbs, wiring and switches aside).  Read More
The Aros air conditioner works with the WINK app
Air conditioners are a blessing in a hot climate, but with their thermostat minds they’re almost like sticking a vacuum cleaner in your wallet. To help remedy this, GE and Quirky have launched the Aros smart air conditioner; the first major connected appliance of the partnership. This Wi-Fi-enabled air conditioning unit uses Quirky’s WINK app to learn its owner’s habits and adjust itself accordingly, so it keeps the home cool without breaking the bank.  Read More
Using bone conduction, the Dreampad delivers audio only the person lying on it
There are many people who find a little music helps them drift off to sleep at night. Conversely, there are many people who don't. The Dreampad from Integrated Listening could be just the thing for couples with a foot in each camp.  Read More
The unobtrusive nature of SnapRays adds weight to its creator's claim as a convenient repl...
Placing guidelights up your hallway or down your staircase can involve bulky plugin solutions or a professional and expensive installation. SnapRays Guidelight, an easy-install outlet cover with built-in LEDs, could simplify this process by turning any standard power outlet into a night light without the need for re-wiring or batteries.  Read More
Droplet works by selectively watering the plants in your garden
There's no two ways about it: your common or garden sprinkler (so garden, in all probability) is a blithering half-wit. Rain or no, if you don't turn it off, it'll water your lawn whether it needs it or not, and much more besides. The Droplet wants to change all that. A sort of "smart" water cannon, it knows which parts of your garden to water, and when.  Read More
The gel-tags use nanotechnology to show when a product has gone off
We're all familiar with the sell-by dates stamped on groceries. They're supposed to protect us, but in practice, they can be a bit of a coin toss. Now a research team led by Chao Zhang of Peking University in Beijing, China has come up with a color-coded smart tag that uses nanotechnology to tell when the food or drugs in a package are in danger of spoiling.  Read More
The company claims that Pluk will keep fruit fresher for longer
Danish design firm Faco is offering a new take on the hanging fruit bowl with Pluk, a space-saving spherical basket that can be used to conveniently store apples, oranges, or anything else you can fit inside its frame.  Read More
The Cardboard Standing Desk offers an affordable way of sitting less while working
Most people will have heard how bad it is for you to sit all day. Inactivity can cause obesity, poor posture, and general unhealthiness – which is why so many people are switching to using standing desks at work or at home. The biggest problem is how expensive they are to buy. We recently featured the UpStanding Desk, which offered an affordable solution to this problem by converting your existing desk from sitting to standing. The Cardboard Standing Desk from Chairigami offers another, even more affordable, solution.  Read More
The Addicted Toaster is designed to bring attention to areas where e-waste can be reduced
A household full of smart, connected appliances could have benefits beyond waking up in a toasty warm house to the smell of freshly brewed coffee. As part of his Addicted Products project, Italian product designer Simone Rebaudengo has created a connected toaster that becomes unhappy when it goes unused, drawing attention to areas where e-waste can be reduced.  Read More
Gizmag takes a look at 10 BBQ gadgets to make sure your backyard cook-up is not one to be ...
Gathering around a pit of intense heat and vigilantly turning pieces of food at perfectly-timed intervals, otherwise known as barbecuing, has to be one of man's longest and most widely-held traditions. But from singed steaks to chorizo sausages and wood chips to propane, everybody has a slightly different take on how to deliver the perfect feast. As the warmer months approach for many of our readers, and neighbors, friends and family prepare to don their aprons and fire up the grill, Gizmag has smoked out 10 outdoor entertaining innovations that will ensure your backyard cook-up is not one to be missed.  Read More

The UpStanding Desk is a simple and affordable way of switching from sitting to standing w...
We have previously covered several innovative standing desks here at Gizmag, such as the XTable and UpWrite. These have all required starting from scratch, which is usually a costly endeavor. The UpStanding Desk offers a simpler and more affordable way to switch from sitting to standing – it's a unit that sits atop a normal desk or table, converting it into a functional standing desk.  Read More
Soundwall is designed to be appreciated by both the ears and the eyes
People who love music can never quite get enough of it. They often want to listen to it for most of the day, whether at home, at work, or traveling between the two. Wireless speakers have aided this endeavor for listening at home, but they're often ugly objects you wouldn't want to have on display permanently – a problem potentially solved by Soundwall.  Read More
The Liquidy-Split bottle is designed to make measuring ingredients when preparing food a w...
Measuring liquids in the kitchen while cooking can quite easily spiral into spill-covered bench tops and a sink full of dishes. The Liquidy-Split bottle is designed to avoid this with its built-in dial for measuring different quantities.  Read More
Toro says that the upright storage of the SmartStow mower will save up to 70 percent of sp...
Thinking vertically can add a whole new dimension to our storage solutions, but there's a one clunky inhabitant of garages around the world that doesn't particularly lend itself to an upright way of life. Landscape equipment manufacturer Toro is looking to solve this dilemma through its Recycler mower, a lawn mower designed to be stored vertically without undesirable pools of oil and gas forming underfoot.  Read More
The healthy homes theme of this year's competition is divided into three focus areas: Culi...
Electrolux Design Lab will open for entries this Saturday. The theme for the 2014 competition centers on optimizing the future home for healthy lifestyles, while minimizing impact on the environment.  Read More
Dormi is a baby monitor app for parents with two or more Android phones
Baby monitors are one of the multitude of things that parents have to remember to pack when going away for a weekend, or that they don't have to hand when visits with friends last longer than expected. A new app solves this problem, for families with two or more Android devices. Dormi replaces the need for a dedicated baby monitor by turning one device into a transmitter that captures audio, and relays it to one or more other receiver devices.  Read More
Rekindle from Benjamin Shine is a cleverly designed candlestick that means no wax goes to ...
Candles never quite seem to last long enough, and you're always left with a clump of useless wax to dispose of. Rekindle from designer Benjamin Shine tackles these issues, helping to prevent both mess and waste.  Read More
bottlelight-festooned wine bottles, helping to class things up a little
There's an old camping trick, for people who don't want to bother getting a lantern: just stick a flashlight up against the bottom of a plastic pop bottle, turn the flashlight on, then bask in the bottle's glow. Now you can do the same sort of thing with wine bottles, using suckUK's bottlelight.  Read More
Designer Peter Trimble has built a machine that creates biostone furniture
With energy production and raw material shortages becoming increasingly pertinent issues around the world, designer Peter Trimble has demonstrated a radical method of manufacture that addresses both issues. Dupe is a portable machine that uses a mixture of sand, bacteria and urine to create a material called biostone. The machine is a proof-of-concept design only and is currently set up to create a small stool, but the method can be adapted to create just about anything.  Read More
The company determined that inflating the pillow to an extra three inches  (7.62 cm) in de...
The Snore Activated Nudging Pillow hopes to defuse late-night altercations by automatically delivering a gentle nudge to snorers when the noise levels start to escalate.  Read More

The VidaPak prototype in drink-making action
Coffee machines have become a fixture of many offices and homes, but how about a machine that can mix and dispense cold drinks, saving all those plastic bottles? A team of inventors based in Tampa, Florida, have developed the prototype of a machine that does just that. Called VidaPak, the Keurig coffeemaker-like unit can refrigerate and heat to serve both cold and hot drinks.  Read More
Sammy Screamer is a motion detector to help parents keep an eye on the kids
Ever wished you had an extra set of eyes on the cookie jar, or somebody making sure the kids aren't sneaking out of their bedrooms when its time to do homework? Looking to help out with these and a whole host of common parenting duties is Sammy Screamer, a small movement sensor that sends out alerts when it detects motion.  Read More
Aside from the Paperpedic Bed, Karton's range include chests of drawers, TV units, room pa...
It's generally only when its time to pack up and move house that the typical homeowner encounters large quantities of cardboard. In bicycle helmets and vacuum cleaners, however, we have seen some innovative applications for the material beyond its use as lightweight and durable packaging. Karton, a cardboard furniture company offering everything from beds to room dividers, takes a similar approach, yet aims to go beyond the novel and make its paper constructions a charming and practical part of your living solution.  Read More
The Airgun might look like a drill, but it's a battery-powered compressor
Need to pump up a ball, bike tire or whatnot, but don't feel like doing a lot of manual pumping? You could take the item up to your local gas station and use its compressor, but Airman is hoping that you'll use its Airgun instead.  Read More
Piper is a home security and automation device from Blacksumac
Blacksumac, a developer of remote presence-based smart technology, has announced the US and Canada launch of Piper, a home security and automation device. It allows users to monitor and interact with their home via a smartphone or tablet.  Read More
A kitchen mirror concept paired with a Kinect-like camera
Every now and then we get demonstrations of really innovative new technologies and concepts that almost no one has any chance of being able to own anytime soon. The best place to undergo this particular form of torture is at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. This year at CES, a really fantastic "smart mirror" concept from Toshiba fit the bill.  Read More
The Ekobrew Elite is a reusable alternative to Keurig's single-use K-Cups
Some people sure like their Keurig coffee brewers, although the things are a major steps backwards, environmentally-speaking – for every cup of java that's made, another coffee mix-containing "K-Cup" is used and disposed of. Ekobrew's Stainless Steel Elite K-Cup, however, can be refilled with ground coffee and used over and over.  Read More
The markerless AR system from Cimagine Media
When you want to augment a digital image creation onto the real world, you'll likely need to point your smart device's camera at the kind of markers found in Sony's TV Size Guide tool or on the front cover of magazines like Esquire. IKEA took this idea a step further by making its 2014 catalog the marker, but a new system from Israel's Cimagine Media uses a tablet or smartphone camera and sensors to position the virtual object in a room without the need for physical markers.  Read More
The WunderBar is made up of wireless Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)-enabled sensors which can ...
Lack of progress toward an "Internet of Things" has been attributed to a variety of factors. Indeed, enabling devices from different manufacturers to communicate in an effective and useful manner is no simple task. European start-up Relayr believes that its WunderBar, a hardware kit comprised of seven smart modules, could provide app developers with the toolbox to bring networks of interoperating gadgets closer to reality.  Read More
ModCubes can be reconfigured to form different pieces of furniture, such as this crib/cupb...
Modular furniture – that is, furniture than can be adapted to suit changing needs – is becoming an increasingly common concept. One company has gone right back to basics, and designed building blocks for an extensive range of modular furniture. These building blocks are called ModCubes, and when combined together they form pieces of furniture known as ModRoomz. The word LEGO is nowhere to be seen, but the Danish toy company deserves at least a small nod of appreciation.  Read More

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