Smart Home

Besides keeping your food cold, there’s not much more we need from a fridge, but manufacturers keep cramming new features in there. The latest example from LG is the MoodUP, a fridge that sports speakers and LED doors that can change color on demand.

Straight out of the smart, sustainable suburbs of an extraterrestrial future, the Nestron Cube Two X is a step toward the next generation of modular living. It has extra space and big views (of Earth, Mars or elsewhere) out large windows and skylights.

Having recently upgraded its Echo Show 10 to add a rotating screen, now Amazon has refreshed its smaller Echo Show 8 and Echo Show 5 devices too. A special Kids Edition of the smallest model has also been introduced.

The new, second-generation Google Nest Hub is here, with one big change from its 2018 predecessor: it can track your sleeping patterns from a bedside table, with no wires or wearables required, besides offering all the smarts of Google Assistant.

Moley Robotics steps beyond robo-mixers and grocery-tracking refrigerators in developing a robo-kitchen built to provide a full cooking takeover. The automated kitchen system is ready to find its way into actual homes.

Amazon’s Ring has announced a new home security camera called the Ring Always Home Cam, mounted on a drone that can fly a preset path to check for intruders, open windows or left-on ovens. But of course, it might be more trouble than it’s worth.

Researchers at Cornell University have been working on a one-size-fits-all solution for smart home energy tracking, developing a vibration-sensing device that can keep tabs on appliance usage through machine learning and lasers.

Voice-activated smart speakers can be handy around the house, but they come with a privacy trade-off. Appropriately named start-up Paranoid has unveiled a set of devices that can make sure smart speakers are only listening when you want them to.

A new startup called Yeeuu Tech has thrown eight different unlocking methods into one device. The S1 Smart Lock can be unlocked through passcodes, NFC, an app, fingerprints, or Bluetooth, among others, and can be fitted into most existing locks.

Wearables continue to get smaller, cheaper, and more capable, and the latest to enter the fray is the Wyze Band. For a mere US$25 you get just about everything you could want from a compact fitness tracker.

Everything needs to be online nowadays, from vending machines to smart speakers, but that costs in terms of bulk and energy use. Now researchers have come up with a chip that gets devices connected with 5,000 times less power draw than normal.

If the growing proliferation of smart speakers in our homes makes you a little uneasy, researchers from the University of Chicago might have the answer: a wearable bracelet that jams the microphones in speakers, smartwatches, and smartphones alike.