Around The Home

When ingested, nutrient-rich spirulina blue-green algae is claimed to offer antioxidant, immune-boosting and cholesterol-lowering effects. And while it's typically consumed in powdered form, the Bloom system lets you grow the stuff in your kitchen.

Compared to riding a real bicycle outdoors, riding an indoor stationary bike can be pretty boring. The Capti exercise bike is the most recent to address that problem, by adding games and virtual rides to the mix.

The Plantee indoor greenhouse was developed for folks who have brought a colorful plant home from a shopping trip, only to watch it wither and die. The all-in-one, plug-and-play solution takes the guesswork out of caring for plants in the home.

In 2018, we heard how UK startup Volerian was planning to build a VTOL aircraft with a flapping-wing propulsion system. Although we've yet to see a working model, the company has now incorporated the tech into what it claims is a better room fan.

Ever since the first iRobot Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner was introduced, successive models have offered additional features. The new Roomba j7 is particularly interesting, however, in that it uses a visible light camera to identify and avoid obstacles … such as dog and cat poop.

Segway-Ninebot has rolled on into the autonomous lawn mower space with a robotic gardening solution that goes a little further than most, using GPS to navigate gardens with a high degree of precision.

MB&F and L’Epée 1839 have released another playful clock that looks like it's half timepiece and half puzzle. At first glance, the Orb looks like a huge enameled eye, but opening the four beetle-like wings provides some versatile display options.

Subdued lighting and good music can help set a relaxing tone for the porch party or campout, but instead of having to break out separate devices, Sony has launched a portable lamp/speaker that offers 360-degree sound and puts out a candle-like glow.

Most of us can't afford homes with fire-extinguishing sprinklers built into the ceiling … and that's where FACE is designed to come in. It's a self-contained, heat-activated fire suppression device that's mounted in the user's home, wherever needed.

Samsung is claiming a few world firsts with its latest robot vacuum cleaner. The Jet Bot AI+ is said to be the first to feature an active stereo-type 3D sensor for object detection, and the first equipped with Intel AI for object recognition.

Although many people enjoy tracking which types of birds come through their backyards, they can't be watching their yards all the time. Terra is designed to help, by continuously identifying birds via their songs.

The company behind the Smart Herb Garden we reviewed back in 2014 has launched a new indoor garden on Kickstarter. The Click & Grow 25 system promises to grow "substantial amounts of greens for everyday use, without becoming a time-consuming hobby."