Six devices aiming to smarten up your home

By Emma Goddard
BU News Service

LAS VEGAS — When it comes to technology that will make your home smarter, CES has plenty of options. Out of the 4,400 companies represented at the show this year, 1,083 are expected to showcase products that live in your home — most of which feature Amazon Alexa and connect to your smartphone.

Here are six of the products that have been unveiled so far:

1. Kohler Konnect Sensate Smart Faucet

This voice-activated sink will allow you to dispense water in specific measurements to allow a hands-free kitchen experience. It connects to Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple HomeKit. While the smart faucet is not yet available, Kohler Konnect offers many other smart home appliances for sale on its website.

2. HiMirror

HiMirror offers a few different models of Amazon Alexa-enabled smart mirrors that will analyze your complexion and give you a summary of your results for: wrinkles, fine lines, dark circles, dark spots, red spots, roughness, and pores. The mirrors also give you multiple options for lighting based on your own preference and your environment. The 2nd generation of this mirror is available for $170 online.

3. Babylist Motorola MBP36XL Baby Monitor

For $180, this monitor will allow you to control the movement of the camera from your smartphone. It has a gripping feature so it can be placed on and around different surfaces, and has a 1,000-foot range so you can listen to and view your child from afar.

4. Bio Pool Tech Smart Pool

This France-based company offers many options for controlling your swimming pool. For example, BioPoolSafe is an environment-friendly option that will regulate the clarity and temperature levels with no added chemicals necessary. These products are still in development phases and are not yet available.

5. Netatmo Smart Doorbell

No matter where you are in the world, this doorbell will allow you to access its camera and audio to communicate with whoever is at your front door. When someone rings the bell, you will receive a call on your smartphone which will allow you to choose whether or not to interact. The device also detects movement regardless of if someone rings the bell, and will notify you immediately. The product is not yet available.

6. Ecovacs DeeBot Ozmo 960

The latest robot from Ecovacs will not only vacuum your floors, but mop them too. The smart vacuum also knows to avoid mopping carpets and uses cameras to navigate. If it should accidentally vacuum up a cable, for example, it will use visual data to remember that cables are to be avoided in the future. It is available on Amazon for $500.