Tag: Smart

I’ve heard of couch potatoes before, but never bed potatoes. But here to prove there is such a thing, a 39-year-old man from China named Zhu Jianqiang went and built himself a joystick-controlled bed so he never has to get out from under the sheets to go about his day.

Changing a cat’s litter box is a nasty chore. You’re asking an animal to continually poop and pee in a box until it is so nasty that you have to change it. What’s wrong with us?

To state the obvious: what you feed your pets has a huge and direct impact on their well-being. Their eating habits also say a lot about their overall health. Unfortunately, most pet owners are unable to pay close attention to their pets, especially those who work full-time.

Her was an interesting movie, to say the least. It’s difficult to understand how someone could fall in love and develop a relationship with an operating system, but we might just see more of that happening with the release of EmoSPARK.

How many times have you burnt your tongue because you sipped too-hot coffee or cocoa from that takeout cup? Aiming to drive that number down are the folks behind the SmartLid.

A year ago, pod-shaped recycling bins were installed all over the UK by Renew London. The so-called “smart bins” definitely look better than your average trash can. Now, you might be wondering, why would trash cans have Wi-Fi capabilities and an LCD installed on front?

There are plenty of electric bikes these days, but from time to time, one comes along that sets itself apart, like this one from Germany’s Smart. Smart is best known for their ultra compact city cars, but I’m impressed with this e-bike too.

Luggage hasn’t changed much in the last few decades, but there’s hope on the horizon. How about having suitcases with built-in GPS that you will never lose again? I’d certainly consider that, since losing your luggage can certainly get painful at times.

Remember SmartThings, which was successfully funded on Kickstarter a few months ago? It was understandably a huge hit with backers who wanted to make their homes infinitely “smarter.” At the end of the campaign, $1.6 million had been raised and the first batch of kits had all been sold out.

How much tea do you drink each day? I drink a few cups, as well as at least a mug of coffee, so this might be a good addition to my modern technology-infused kitchen. This so-called “smartkettle” will update a routine that’s been pretty basic for the last few millennia.

While you can take plenty of notes with laptops and tablets, it’s still convenient to be able to note stuff down in a notebook with a pen. If you’ve ever wanted to easily digitize everything that you jot down, take a look at the Evernote Moleskine Smart Notebook.

Texting and messaging has evolved quite a bit ever since it was launched on the mobile phone scene, but this smart collar is the first time I’ve seen a way for your dog to send you text messages.

I love the idea of an intelligent home, one that has a lot of functions that can be programmed and controlled from far away, but the overall cost of such automation has generally been pretty high.

I don’t keep any keys on a key ring with my car key. The reason is that I hate keys dangling on my leg when I drive. I always just go into the house using the garage door and my garage door opener.

A pair of designers, Jae-yun Kim & Jong-Su Lee, have come up with a speed bump that actually knows and rewards you if you’re obeying speed limits. Vehicles who just gun it upon driving over the speed bump will encounter a normal speed bump, but those who do slow down to below 30 km/h (about 19 mi/h) will be given milk & cookies and a pat on the back.

It seems that just about every day, another company jumps into the fray with another iPod dock, so it’s good to see one that stands out a little bit. Smart Design’s Dragon I iPod dock has a unique style that certainly isn’t shy.