Around The Home

All was peaceful and gently sucky in the robot vacuum world – at least until this morning, when Dyson thundered in, Dysoning everything in its path, unleashing a fearsome 110,000 RPM Hyperdymium-driven beast that sucks six times harder than any other.

It was just last year that we told you about the MetMo Driver, which was a modern take on the classic ratchet screwdriver. Well, its makers are now offering a smaller version, and it's appropriately named the MetMo Pocket Driver.

Eeva is a small, water and energy-efficient machine designed to sit where your laundry basket would normally sit – bedroom, bathroom, or even in an RV or caravan – no hoses required. It'll get a load of laundry washed and dried in 90 minutes.

Some people like to install a wooden seat on their toilet for its warmth, but the Block goes further. Described by Woodio as the world's first bio-material toilet, it ditches porcelain in favor of a modern toilet that's made from composite wood.

You might think that the ol' wood-and-wire chicken coop is one thing that's ineligible for a high-tech makeover. The designers of a camera- and alarm-equipped chicken home known as The Coop, however, would be inclined to disagree.

Folks who work on a computer at home, and also suffer from cold hands, can find keeping their digits toasty during winter months an expensive problem. Danish startup Varme has sought to address such issues with a power-sipping desktop hand warmer.

The return of vinyl records may have prompted legacy album spinners to dust off some attic classics. Folks looking to remove accumulated gunk from the grooves will be interested to learn that Austria's Pro-Ject has launched two new cleaning machines.

Over time, vinyl records can accumulate surface gunk that adversely impacts playback. The RCM from Austria's Rekkord Audio has been launched to help you keep your collection in pristine condition.

We've all heard how it's a good idea to have plants in your home, as they purify the air. Well, the bioengineered Neo P1 is said to excel in that department, as it's reportedly equivalent to up to 30 regular houseplants in terms of air purification.

It's always a shame when you buy fresh produce, only to have it spoil in the fridge before you can use it. The Aurora system is designed to keep that from happening, using a combination of ultraviolet light and vacuum packing.

Although pushing a baby in a stroller certainly is easier than carrying it, some effort still is required. The Ella stroller is designed to make things easier, with electric-assist motors, a Hands-Free mode, and various other "smart" features.

You could invest in an indoor training machine to keep fit while working from home, but such things are not usually designed for working while exercising. Acer has combined a mini desk and stationary bike that can charge devices while you workout.

For indoor gardeners who want to try something a bit more exotic, cultivating mushrooms can be rewarding and FirstBuild's Mella smart mushroom fruiting chamber promises to take some of the guesswork out of the challenge.

Your roller doors might be smooth, but they'll never be this smooth. Californian company Hover Doors uses permanent magnets to float heavy sliding doors as if they're mag-lev monorails, for super-quiet, minimal-effort opening and closing.

If you're at home alone, you may be reluctant to use headphones or do anything else that keeps you from hearing noises such as ringing doorbells. That's where Earzz comes in, as it's designed to listen for those noises, and alert you when they occur.