7 Handy Home Innovations You’ll Want to Buy Today

Technology is an ever-changing beast, with new innovations being released every day.

Sure, things like cancer-seeking nanobots and meat-free burgers make big news, but sometimes its the things we encounter every single day that are the most life-changing. And technology has really evolved how we live in our homes, how we design them, and the objects we choose to keep around.

Here are 7 incredible home innovations you’ll want to run out and buy right now:

Smart Glass

Everyone’s got that one nosy neighbor who you fear being able to see inside your open windows during the day. Or, if you don’t, you’re just generally uneasy about people being able to see inside your home, causing you to leave the blinds closed.

Rather than spend the rest of your life living inside an artificially lit room even when it’s bright and sunny outdoors, smart glass can give you the privacy you want without blocking out the light.

An electrical charge energizes materials inside smart glass, changing the window’s  transparency from clear all the way up to fully opaque, depending on your preferences. You can control the tint using a switch, or set it all up to automatically change based on the sunlight shining on it.

Not only will smart glass give you the privacy you want without sacrificing sunlight, it also can decrease your energy costs or allow you to project images on the inside of your windows.

Firevase

Small home fires happen every day, and if they’re not put out quickly they can turn into big fires. And using the wrong method of smothering the fire - by throwing water on an oil fire, for example - can make it spread more quickly.

Enter Samsung’s Firevase, which looks like a regular flower vase most of the time. However, it holds a secret stash of potassium carbonate, which can quickly smother flames and decrease a fire’s power when the vase is smashed.

The vases went into popular production in 2018, with Samsung Insurance distributing more than 10,000 in South Korea.

Modular Mattress

Adjustable mattresses have been around for a long time, allowing two different bed occupants to experience two different levels of sleep comfort.

However, these options have always been very heavy and unwieldy, requiring multiple people to move them into a home. They’re also not the most portable solutions, meaning larger beds are difficult to fit through smaller stairways and doorways.

With Bedgear’s M3 mattress, the entire experience is modular and customizable. The chassis, box springs, foam pad, and cover all zip together. Each individual part is much smaller and more manageable to move than the entire unit on its own.

Additionally, you can remove and replace individual parts to customize the sleep experience however you want.

If you buy an M3 as a guest bed, for example, one houseguest can enjoy a firmer sleep experience. When you get a guest that prefers a softer mattress, simply remove the stiffer springs and put in the softer ones.

The M3 also has an extra-warm cover for colder weather, and features ventilated air panels to promote air flow without attracting and circulating dust mites.

People-Detecting Thermostats

Keeping your home at an ideal temperature, even when you’re home, can be a challenge.

Programmable thermostats go part of the way to helping you conserve energy, adjusting the temperature on a set schedule when you know you’ll be at work, for example. However, if you arrive home early or you’re home sick, the thermostat still keeps up with its program, leaving you to manually adjust things and potentially mess up the schedule.

Honeywell Home has developed the T-Series Smart Thermostats, which include people-sensing technology.

The have wireless smart sensors with a 200-foot range, detecting movement and the presence of people and adjusting the temperature accordingly. So, if you arrive home earlier than usual on a hot day, your home’s thermostat can detect your presence and kick on the air conditioner without you having to touch a thing.

Smart Toilets

The bathroom isn’t often the focus of too many smart home innovations, as that’s typically a place people go to do their business and get out.

But bathroom fixture manufacturer Kohler wants to change that with their Numi 2.0 Intelligent Toilet.

It is Alexa-enabled, allowing you to voice-activate flushing for a more hygenic experience, and surround sound lets you play music or other pleasant sounds while you sit. It has an integrated bidet and seat warmer, giving you an overall more comfortable bathroom experience.

The Numi doesn’t stop there, though; it also offers a color display on the bowl and base that you can change to suit your mood.

Grinder/Coffee Maker Combos

Fresh-brewed coffee is one of the small joys in life, and many people find that brewing coffee right after it’s been ground from whole beans makes for an even tastier cup.

Up until now, that’s meant that coffee lovers have to keep a grinder on hand as well as their brewing method of choice, eating up counter space.

The Gourmia GCM4700 is a 10-cup coffee maker with built-in grinder, giving you a fresh cup each day. You also can opt to use ground coffee if you’re running low on whole beans or you just prefer pre-ground.

Like many other modern coffee makers, the Gourmia also has a 30-minute pot warmer, as well as programmable brewing features so you can wake up to a fresh pot every morning.

Social Robots

Modern life can be lonely, especially for seniors who live by themselves and may not have as wide of a social network as they used to. This lack of social contact can lead to depression, poor appetite, and other health conditions.

Intuition Robotics created the ElliQ “intuitive social robot” designed a social robot, and tested it with seniors between 65 and 97.

The robot comes with a high-tech cognitive AI platform “Q,” but is easily accessible and usable for even the most low-tech seniors. ElliQ can remind users to take their medications or text a loved one on their birthday, help them look up information, share pictures, and more, all while learning more about the individual user’s needs and preferences.

Technology Designed with People in Mind

Technology for technology’s sake serves no one. But when technology is developed with its users in mind, great things happen.

At @Assist, we’ve built our suite of cloud-based software with the user’s experience first. Manage your business invoices, send work orders, even run an entire smart city from anywhere in the world. Try @Assist today!