Gadgets are a staple part of our everyday life now, whether we like it or not. We’re fast becoming a world that is tech-addicted and for those of us who lead increasingly busy lives, it’s a good thing.
We work long hours and our free time is precious. If we can make as much of it as relaxed as possible it’s win-win all round.
Most of us have smartphones, but what about a smart-home? Bringing your living environment into the 21st century with a range of gadgets that are an ultra-cool mixture of beautiful form, mixed with the latest in cutting edge digital technology. Sounds great.
Who doesn’t want to make their life easier by being able to clean their home without lifting a finger – or create delicious and nutritious meals with the help of smart chef cookers who do all the hard work for you?
Here, we examine some of the futuristic gadgets that are looking to revolutionise home design. We’ve tried to cover as many different home options as possible to give a broad outlook. The world of technology and home design is something that is ever changing and constantly evolving. It never stands still, and so these ideas and products are designed to reflect the here and now.
Lighting up your life with technology
Floor Plan Light Switch
We’ve all done it, been in our homes and switched the wrong light off in the wrong room, plunging ourselves into temporary darkness whilst we scrabble to find the right switch!
Tech innovator Taewon Hwang has come up with an ingenious solution to this – the Floor Plan Light Switch. A very simple design which enables you to better tell which light switch you’re about to turn on or off in whatever room you’re in by working out the floor plan of your home and then making a customisable switch to use in your dwelling.
The RIMA Lamp
This innovation is interior lighting like no other. It has one stand out feature, and that is it gives you the ability to control lighting via four controller rings that are on slides.
Inventor Matthias Pinkert designed it and included a processor within the lamp that controls heat, intensity and the angle of the beam and color of light emitted.
Ambience LED Smart Bulbs
Mood lighting is a great way to relax and unwind, and we’re all more aware than ever of the need to use LED bulbs or low energy lighting in our homes. One major retailer has introduced a range of ambience creating light bulbs which not only create mood lighting for a low price but have the added bonus of being compatible with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Assistant, meaning they’re efficient and tech friendly too. What’s not to love?
Futuristic Gadgets and Entertainment
The Transparent TV
If you didn’t think TV technology could develop any further than it has done, then look no further than the Transparent TV, which has been designed by Michael Friebe and now being picked up by one or two of the major players in the electronics industry.
It’s a brand new innovation that combines LCD and something called TOLED Display Technology. It’s been designed to enhance the viewing experience by offering a better range of full contrast from solid black to pristine white and solid moving pictures with better color reproduction.
iQ Alarm clocks
Struggle to get up in the morning and keep hitting snooze? You might be able to rise and shine sooner with the aid of the iQ Alarm Clock. When it goes off, instead of turning over and pretending you didn’t hear it, it helps you wake up and move more quickly by asking you a set of questions which need you to be alert and awake to answer. One sure fire way of making sure you hit the shower fifteen minutes faster!
Smart Scales
Into fitness and health? Consider replacing your old bathroom scales with come smart scales that are clever enough to be compatible with Apple Health, Fitbit and Google Fit. Often these gadgets will go above and beyond normal scales and offer functions such as Body Fat and BMI calculators too, meaning weight loss or simply keeping track of your health has never been easier.
Interior Design
3D Wall Panels
Think of these as being like interior cladding for your home, but much more modern and up to date. They offer interesting shape and dimension to a single wall or an entire room. Coming in a range of different materials and finishes they give a stunning arrangement of light and shadow and could potentially benefit those that suffer with sensory conditions such as autism.
Change It! Wall
The Change It! Wall is not digital or electrical, but it is incredibly innovative and futuristic and means that you can change your decor at random.
It’s a project that was started by designer Amirko Perth and is essentially customizable wall that can be used anywhere in the home. Different colours and shades can be used to create patterns, shapes, words and whatever else you desire, whenever you want.
It means you can literally redecorate any time the mood takes you and you don’t have to spend any extra money on painting or wallpapering.
Cleaning, Heating and Home Care Wrapped Up
The Self-Sterilizing Door Handle
Although we tend to have a little more control over the hygiene in our own homes than we do when we’re out and about, some people are now investing in a creation by designer Choi Bomi, the self-sterilizing door handle. It works in a remarkable way. The handle rests horizontally and needs to be pushed down to unlock the door. When the handle is not in use it uses UV light, which runs through the middle of the handle, to sterilise it. When it is in the closed position it clicks into place horizontally and the UV lamp is activated. This stops bacteria from breeding, spreading to hands and causing illness.
Eco Dish Cleaner
Many of us are turning to greener methods of cleaning our home, but one area that can be difficult is washing up – we all feel we need detergents to make our dishes sparkling clean and germ free. A system called the Eco Cleaner has been developed that uses ultrasonic waves to cut through grease and food particles. It goes one step further and then converts the food into reusable compost for the garden, or potted plants that might be kept in an apartment.
The Orbital Washing Machine
Loading and unloading the washing machine can sometimes feel like a chore, but with the Orbital Washing Machine washing clothes has never been so easy. It has an incorporated basket that makes taking your clothes in and out of the machine very easy indeed. It also has a spherical drum that moves on two axes, that work to wash your clothes quickly and using less energy.
Robotic Vacuum Cleaners with Voice Control
By now, a lot of us are aware of robotic vacuum cleaners and their great potential to help make housework less of a chore. The next stage in their development is the recent introduction of a voice activated model, which can be operated through gadgets like Amazon Alexa and Google Home so you can tell it when and where to clean, and how long for.
Intelligent Precision Cookers
We’d all like to have the skill and intuition of a properly trained chef when it comes to cooking our meals every day. That’s why a new breed of intelligent precision cookers has been developed which can cook almost everything starting from different kinds of meat, fish, vegetables, soups, and even desserts. What makes them extra special is that they come with a mobile application which lets you start, stop, and monitor your food at any time during the cooking process!
Smartphone App Enabled Air Purifier
With all the new technology we have, the inevitable downside is that it can sometimes create more pollution. If you live somewhere urban, then you may be double affected by poor air quality. One leading tech company has produced a smartphone app enabled home air purifier that lets you monitor the air quality inside your home, check the status of the filters, schedule the timer and receive real-time outdoor air quality updates. This could be particularly useful if you or anyone in your family suffers from breathing difficulties or other health issues that are affected by air.
‘Learning’ Thermostats
‘Learning’ Thermostats are gadgets that help you heat your home smartly and sensibly, often saving money in the process. They’re clever enough to be able to turn off when you are not at home, helping reduce energy wastage. Thermostats can also be controlled by smartphones too meaning that you have control of your heating when you’re out and about, or when you know someone will be home before you and need to have an adequately heated living space to return to.
This article is provided for general information purposes only. Its content is current at the date of publication. It is not legal advice and is not tailored to meet your individual needs. You should obtain specialist advice based on your specific circumstances before taking any action concerning the matters discussed in this article.
