The Internet of Things & You
In 2011, the IoT Council decided
to celebrate April 9 as the ‘Internet of Things’ day. Since then, the date has
served as an opportunity for everyone in the industry to celebrate the
evolution of IoT. But what is IoT? Simply, the abbreviation is an umbrella term
for multiple technologies that enable devices and gadgets to exchange data over
a network to create a connected environment. So, if you’ve heard of the concept
of a “smart home” where everything can be
IN THE BEDROOM…
You wake up refreshed in the
morning, thanks to the Sleep
Number 360 SmartBed (starts at $1,400) and the Zeeq Smart Pillow ($200 apiece).
The bed uses what its
manufacturers call “Responsive Air” technology that senses your movements
throughout the night and automatically adjusts firmness, comfort and support.
It comes with temperature-balancing fabrics to create the ideal bed for up to
two people with different comfort levels related to sleeping posture and
breathing requirements.
But that’s not all. The bed also
packs in “SleepIQ” technology that tracks how well you sleep each night. In the
morning, you can use its smartphone app to see how the Sleep Number 360
adjusted to your comfort and the effect it has on your sleep quality to give
you your “SleepIQ score”.
And this brings us to the Zeeq
Smart Pillow that gently vibrates when your snoring reaches a preset level to
encourage you to change positions to open your constricted airways. Before you
even fall asleep, you can use its eight built-in speakers to stream music,
audio books and sleep tracks, discretely into your ears without using
headphones, or disturbing your partner.
remotely controlled via your
smartphone and voice commands; well, that’s IoT at play. With devices like
smart lights, IP cameras and Bluetooth speakers with cloud-based voice
assistants, IoT has already made its appearance in Indian homes. But this is
just the tip of the iceberg. Savio
D’Souza tells you about a whole range of IoT-enabled gadgetry –
some of which seem quite frivolous – that are already in existence. Imagine…
Like the bed, Zeeq uses sleep-tracking sensors to capture data throughout the
night to provide you with an analysis of your sleep cycles, duration, snoring
and restfulness, which are then presented to you on your smartphone app. You
can connect the Zeeq to Amazon’s Echo speakers for sleep reports via voice
control, and even use its Smart Alarm to wake you at the optimal time in your
sleep cycle.
www.sleepnumber.com rem-fit.com
AS YOU STEP INTO THE BATHROOM…
Even before you even reach for
your toothbrush, you pick up your smartphone to control the U by Moen (starting at $1,225)
smart shower. This bathroom fitting connects to your home Wi-Fi, and remotely
allows you to set your desired water temperature, and length of shower so that
you don’t waste water or time. You can connect this IoT device with Amazon
Alexa to work with voice commands. You can then start brushing your teeth; U by
Moen will inform you via your smartphone when it’s time for you to step into
the shower. You can also save your settings to get the perfect shower every
time.
As you reach for your toothbrush,
you choose between the Kolibree
Ara ($129) and the Oral-B
7000 (starts at $200), which come with Bluetooth connectivity and
their own apps.
With the Kolibree app,
you can monitor the duration, frequency and brushed surface, all through a
single dashboard; it gives you an overview of brushed areas for each brushing,
even missed spots, which are detected by the 3D sensors embedded within the
toothbrush. Kids also get a virtual coach and games to help them improve their
oral care.
On the other hand, the Oral-B
toothbrush packs in pressure-sensor tech that alerts you if you’re brushing too
hard and automatically decelerates the pulsation and oscillation speeds of the
brush head. Its wireless Smart Guide gives you realtime information about
brushing modes, times and areas. Its app stores up to six months of your
personal brushing data comprising easy-to-understand graphs and charts that you
can share with your dentist.
www.moen.com www.kolibree.comoralb.com
IN YOUR KITCHEN…
Before you even open your fridge,
you remember you have just three eggs left. This is because the Quirky Egg Minder ($14 on Amazon.com), which holds up to 14
eggs and runs on AA batteries, sent a message to your smartphone, the previous
evening, to remind you to buy some more. Each individual egg cup is equipped
with a weight sensor to indicate if it contains an egg and when you put it there.
Additionally, the LED beside the oldest egg lights up to tell you which one you
should use first.
You cook your breakfast on SmartyPans ($229) that connects
to your smartphone via Bluetooth to help you make perfect meals. It comprises a
removable cooktop, a solid aluminium body, weight and temperature sensors, and
an 800mAh rechargeable lithium-polymer battery. When you select from the 1000+
recipes in its app, you get step-by-step cooking instructions. The app
recognises voice commands, so you can tell it what ingredients you are adding,
while the pan monitors the weight and temperature of each, ensuring that you
never overcook your omelette. It even computes nutritional information so you
can integrate the calorific data with your fitness apps.
As your breakfast is cooking, you
use your smartphone to brew your coffee on the Wi-Fi-enabled Mr Coffee’s Smart WeMo Optimal Brew (₹29,500). This machine lets you set up daily brewing schedules, and even
sends you notifications when it needs to be refilled with coffee or water. It
comes with a stainless steel flask – or carafe – that can hold up to 10 cups of
coffee at a time. Its water-filtration disk removes chlorine and impurities
from water, while proprietary brewing technology makes coffee faster and ensures
“full flavour” at the same time.
After your breakfast, before you
leave the kitchen, you fill your Thermos
Connected Hydration Bottle ($60) with water to take with you to
work. The 700ml bottle comes with a sensor tube on its “Smart Lid” that
measures your water intake during the day while providing real-time temperature
readings.
It connects with the Thermos
Smart Lid app on your smartphone via Bluetooth to calculate your
suggested hydration goal based on your personal data. You can then use your
smartphone to chart your daily, weekly and monthly hydration progress.
In-app reminders help you meet
your goals, and it even syncs water intake automatically with the Fitbit app
on your handset.
smartypans.io www.mrcoffee.comwww.thermos.com
TIME TO GET DRESSED…
Don’t know what to wear? No
problem. The Amazon Echo Look ($200)
is your network-enabled, on-demand sartorialist. You have been using voice
commands to shoot full-length photos and six-second videos of you, every day,
to create a virtual scrapbook of all your outfits. The device comes with LED
lights and a 5MP camera with Intel RealSense SR300 for depth-sensing to create
sharp images of what you’re wearing.
You use the Echo Look app
on your smartphone to see yourself from every angle, select favourite clothing,
see which colours you wear most often, discover new styles, organise your
clothing into collections, and even share these with friends.
Sometimes, you even submit two
photos from your collection, using the Echo Look’s “Style
Check” feature, for a second opinion on which outfit looks better on you, along
with feedback based on fit, colour, styling, and current trends.
The device’s IoT cloud-based
ecosystem combines machine learning algorithms with tips from fashion experts
to give you relevant advice that only gets better as it learns your
preferences, choices and comfort levels.
Finally, it’s time to leave for
work, but not before your brush your hair with the splash-proof L’Oreal Kerastase Hair Coach (coming
soon) that’s powered by Withings. This hairbrush uses myriad sensors to gauge
the quality of hair and monitor the effects of different hair care routines. It
does this via a built-in mic that listens to the sound of hair brushing to
identify patterns, and provide manageability insights with regards to
frizziness, dryness, split ends and breakage.
Embeded smart sensors measure the
force you apply to your hair and the scalp when brushing, while its
accelerometer and a gyroscope analyse brushing patterns and count brush
strokes, with haptic feedback that signals if your actions are too vigorous.
Conductivity sensors determine if the brush is being used on dry or wet hair to
provide an accurate hair measurement.
The Hair Coach feeds data
automatically via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to its dedicated mobile app, which then
takes into account factors like humidity, temperature, UV and wind, which also
impact your hair’s manageability and quality. By tracking the way you brush
your hair, the smart brush app provides you with information including a hair
quality score, data on the effectiveness of brushing habits, personalised tips
and even product recommendations.
Voila, you’re finally ready to
leave home and take on the world.
TOI 7APR18
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