By Molly McLaughlin on February 6, 2012 in
Covering consumer electronics means wading through a lot of "ooh, shiny!" devices and "game-changing" innovations, many of which quickly fall by the wayside, replaced by something shinier and cooler. That's why it's nice to see that some companies are looking to harness technology in a more meaningful way, thinking less about the "cool" factor and more about how their latest innovation can make our lives easier. Over the past year or two, I've had to chance to see a number of products and prototypes that promise just that -- an easier way to do the things you deal with everyday. Here's a sampling of the more practical (yet still cool) tech that I'm excited about.
A smarter home
I've already written about Nest, which was showcased at CES last month, a thermostat that learns from your habits and then automatically adjusts the temperature based on what it's learned. Nest is connected to the web so it can access weather information, adjust accordingly -- and you can also control it from your computer or smartphone. Nest costs $249 and can be self-installed in place of your current thermostat.
Also at CES (this year and last) were a slew of "smart appliances," though only a few seem actually useful. (Surfing the web from the fridge? Not so much.) On the other hand, Whirlpool showed off a washing machine that will send you a mobile alert when it's finished cleaning your clothes, so you'll know when it's time to throw your clothes into the dryer. This smart washer won't be available until 2013 and will cost at least $1,500, so it's a high price to pay for a small convenience -- but it's a look forward to a time when all of our devices will be connected to each other.
No more fumbling for keys
For years now, we've had keyless access to our cars - and, more recently, the ability to lock and unlock the car remotely. What if you could do the same at home? SimpliciKey, maker of an electronic deadbolt is currently working on an app that will let you lock and unlock your home from any smartphone. This means you could let your child into the house when they lose their keys - or even lock the door remotely if you forget to lock it at the way out. Currently SimpliciKey offers keyless access to the home using an electronic key fob, much like those used for cars.
Losing the mouse without losing your voice
As someone who suffers from repetitive stress injuries in my neck and shoulder, I'd love to find a way to stop using the mouse, the clear culprit. Sure, voice recognition technology has gotten better and better, but unless you have a private workspace, it's distracting to others -- and to me, there's just something unnatural about talking to a computer. Even though I use an ergonomic mouse and pay attention to my posture, I'm still hyper-extending my arm and exacerbating the pain in my shoulder every time I scroll and click. So I've been particularly excited to see two companies working on hands-free solutions.
Tobii was at CES this year demonstrating eye-tracking technology via its PC Eye product, which enables you to control your cursor -- to play a game or scroll through a web page -- just using your eyes. The company has been using eye tracking for research purposes - to gauge user experience on a website, for example, and has not yet released any products for the consumer, though that's in the works.
Imagine controlling your computer with your brain. It's possible with Emotiv's EPOC headset (pictured at left), which has built-in EEG sensors that can read electrical signals from the brain and then transmits that information wirelessly to a computer. The headset costs $200 and the company sells compatible applications on their site as well. Emotiv has several video demonstrations on their site, including one in which someone uses the headset to play Angry Birds. The demo (embedded below), is pretty compelling, but it's clear that using the EPOC headset requires a bit of a learning curve.