Our society loves technology, and it feels like new gadgets are coming out every day. The popularization of smart homes inspired a whole line of exciting devices we never imagined.
Smart homes allow us to bring our households into the future. While some of these gadgets are more subtle, some feel as though they are straight out of science fiction.
Although you’d think people would eventually run out of appliances or furniture to upgrade, inventors continue to surprise the market with innovative and surprising smart devices. Here are some of the most unique we've seen.
1. Coat Hangers
What if we didn’t have to decide what to wear when we woke up? Imagine saving all the time and frustration from forgetting that umbrella on a rainy day or sifting through several outfits before finding something that matches.
We can’t all have little fashion experts living in our house, but maybe we can use smart technology to help optimize outfits for the day. By incorporating weather apps or using smart sensors to detect colors, wasting time picking out an outfit may soon be a problem of the past. Already existing smart hanger models, like Take Off, give us a glimpse of future.
2. Food Containers
We’ve all had the experience of a mystery container of leftovers being chucked in the trash. It’s easy to forget about all the food you have at home, especially when you’re always out on the go. Sure, smart fridges are already a thing, but they are costly. And replacing any appliance is a hassle.
Smart food containers are the real kitchen aid of the future. Imagine having the ability to monitor the contents of your fridge from your phone. For those of us who aren’t gifted in the culinary arts, maybe these devices could cross-reference the contents of our fridge and suggest different recipes. FreshFridge offers a great step in the right direction.
3. Laundry Baskets
We are still far away from robot butlers doing our laundry for us, but that doesn't mean we can't let smart technology help out. Imagine laundry baskets with sensors telling us what is inside them or how we need to wash our clothes. We can all benefit from simple reminders letting us know things like, "Hey! All of your uniform shirts are dirty!"
Some day in the not too distant future, maybe they could go the extra mile and actually do our laundry while they're at it. Until we perfect that tech, smart laundry baskets are all we're asking for. We hope that the laundry basket market looks at inventions like LaunderPal as inspiration for the future of clean clothes.
4. Bird Feeders
Are you an animal lover who is tired of scaring away feathered visitors? How cool would it watch a live video feed from your very own bird feeder? By incorporating cameras, audio sensors, and machine learning software, maybe they could take it a step further and even identify your visitors. Cool inventions like Bird Buddy are a great starting point, but perhaps soon we'll have birdfeeders that let us give special treats or work with wildlife protection agencies.
5. Home Gardens
If you are more of a gardener than a bird watcher, you may be more interested in bringing the outdoors inside. Indoor gardening isn't new, but smart technology potentially offers these gardens for people who lack a green thumb.
Enjoy all the joys of indoor plants without needing to worry about watering and sunlight. Things like the CounterCrop offer models for herb gardens. Imagine if you could bring this same technology in for flowers or small trees.
6. Scent Diffusers
If you are looking for other ways to relax, you might be excited to know there is now a market for smart air diffusers. Imagine having a single diffuser for all of your scents. Switching the atmosphere of the room would be as easy as a click of a button.
You could swap between cinnamon sugar, fresh cotton, and spring flowers depending on your mood, guests, or events. Zenaura is once a product that uses smart technology to create customized scents from your phone without using any flames, heat, or liquid.
7. Heated Blankets
Imagine a climate-controlled blanket reinvents how you sleep without the safety risks of an electric blanket. In the future, we'll warm up our blankets by connecting with Alexa and working via voice controls or using research to optimize settings just for you. BedJet 3 is one popular smart blanket already on the market.
Related: The Best Amazon Alexa-Compatible Gadgets You Can Buy
8. Smart Seat Cushions
In this modern age of technology, we spend a lot of time sitting. All this time, sitting at the computer takes a toll on our posture. Imagine if we had a cushion that fixed all of that. That’s where the engineer behind seat.AI got the inspiration for their smart cushion.
9. Treat Dispensers
Anyone with a pet knows the feeling of guilt when you leave them alone all day. Imagine having a special plaything for your pet that will keep them entertained, fed, and healthy. Better yet, what if it incorporated your voice so your pet would still get time with their favorite person? The PetABC iTreater is here to relieve you of some of that guilt of going to work, but we still have a long way to go.
Related: The Best Dog Training Apps for Android and iPhone
10. Smart Hamster Wheels
Imagine if you could know the "stats" of your animal in real life? Maybe we could monitor our pets to find out things like their maximum speed records or how long they walk a day. Marathon Pets already does this for hamsters. We can hope that this tech will spread to other furry friends in the house.
What Can We Expect in Homes of the Future?
It’s impossible to know exactly what we should expect from the future. Technology is advancing faster than anyone could have imagined. As we enter into a world where science fiction is a reality, we can certainly expect more inventors to surprise us with their clever inventions.
And if you want to experience what the smart home of today can do, the Amazon Echo line of smart speakers is a great place to start. You can accomplish a surprisingly vast number of tasks with just your voice.
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