We all heard of smart lighting with the ability of setting different moods and scenes. But what are some of the more obscure or weird smart devices?
Well, in this article we will go through some of our top picks for the more oddball items you can turn into smart devices. Not only can these make cool additions to your smart home but could be quite useful.
1. A Smart Toilet (With Music?)
Why not start this off with something like a toilet. You might be wondering what a smart toilet even does differently from a regular toilet. I know I was when I saw it. So many questions going through my mind. Does it keep track of flushes, water consumption, voice activated, or perhaps uses used on it???
Well it does a few of those things and more. Options to connect with Alexa and play your favorite songs. Ability to wash of course and preheat the seat and feet area. The seat will close and flush when the user walks away. You can have presets for each user as well. Plus you get some funky mood lighting for your late-night bathroom trips.
Don’t celebrate just yet though. The price tag for one of these smart toilets we saw range from $2000 al the way to $15,000. I’m not sure if I need one that bad yet.
2. Smart Pet Feeder
Here’s one that we could see being a little more practical than the first one. Priced at currently $129 on Amazon. We’ve all heard of automatic pet feeders but with the smart pet feeder you set all sorts of programs.
The smart pet feeder has a built in camera to see if your precious is actually eating or perhaps wanting more. You can even talk with your pet using the phone app. Set meal times or add more food to the tray. All this from anywhere in the world. It’s a nice addition for when you might be out or at work and want to say hi =).
3. Smart Tooth Brush (With a Camera?)
Got an electric toothbrush? Well how about an electric tooth brush with a 10MP camera. This seems to be an interesting idea and could seem useful, especially when you got a toothache or sore and want to see – I guess?
Although with a $400 price tag I might just use a mirror with my regular toothbrush. But something defiantly has to be said about those nice tight close up pics.
4. Smart Blanket (and Mattress)
Next we have a smart home bed covering. And yes it is washable. This item actualyl has a couple neat uses and could see us using it.
It has a built in heater to keep the bed at the perfect temperature. It can also sync up to other smart home devices and interact with them. For instance it could have your room temperature and lighting set to accommodate that good nights sleep.
The app can track 2 stages of sleeping patterns and will record data in the phone app. The current pricing is at $249 for this smart sheet.
Eight Sleep is another smart sleeping device. But this one is the whole mattress. It is in a higher class and seems to sport a few more functions. It can cool and heat, so even on those hot days it’ll keep your body the perfect temperature. It has a ton of hours on sleeping habits and data to size up to your sleeping habits and give insights and tips for better sleep. The Eight Sleep is priced around $2000.
5. Smart Energy Monitor for Your Home
Up next is a smart wifi enabled energy monitoring system. This could quite useful in terms of keeping energy cost lower, seeing if a sump pump is on, or when someone arrives in your home. It’s currently priced at $299 on Amazon.
The biggest difference with this energy monitoring system and others is the ability to see real time results through the in phone app. In addition you can link it up to a number of other smart devices, such as Philips Hue, Wemo Insight and Kasa HS110 smart plugs.
It is able to sync with Alexa as well as integrate with IFTTT. You can view your monthly history and see utility cost. We think once you connect this up one might end up start shutting off more devices around their house in order to get the dollar cost to go down.
It works on the concept of an ammeter. It has 2 CT’s that’ll wrap around your main conductors and measure current being used. Is it worth the 300 bucks is still up for debate but we think it’s a cool monitor with the ability to link to a few devices.
6. Multi Functional Smart Irrigation (and security camera?)
Aeon Matrix Yardian is a multi functional irrigation and video survalience system selling on Amazon for $179.99. Seems like an odd combo to make but thats why it’s on the list.
The camera has motion detection with alerts and is of course a smart device. It can control upto 12 zones for all your irrigation needs. It will download weather reports and can determine when to water and when to delay. It can link up to Google Home and Alexa as well for voice control.
Another nefty feature is the ability to deter unwated guest through the video camera. Someone or something lurking in your backyard? You can set it so the sprinklers turn on. Hopefully thats enough for them run away =).
7. Smart Dog Bone (able to move too!)
Here’s a cool toy to grab for your beloved dog. It’s a smart bone, what dog wouldn’t want one. Simply charge up the built in battery and sync up to the app and your good to go. The Wickedbone is currently priced at $99 on Amazon.
You can set 12 different reactions depending on the mood of your dog. Depending on the if they are chasing the bone, playing, or teasing. You can also use the in app joystick to control the bone.
The wheels are built on the side which propel the bone backward and forward. It can be easily washed as well it is made FDA food-grade FDA food-grade polycarbonate. It should be mentioned that this is not a chew toy and would most likely be destroy if your doggy likes to open all their toys up.
A Taste of a Few Weird Smart Devices
Some others devices to quickly mention could be the following as well:
- Smart Fork – Give indication if your chewing too fast and when to slow down
- Smart Egg Tray – Always forgetting when you might need to go get some more eggs. Well worry no more, this tray will send you a notification to remind when you might need some more.
- Smart Hair Brush – Using sensors the brush can indicate some aspects of the health of your hair. It also will track your usage and even send reports through the amazing hair brush app.
- Smart Umbrella – Yet, there is a smart umbrella. The app will remind you to take your umbrella or if you forgot it it will send you the last known location. Hmm, not sure about this one.
In Conclusion
As we wrote this article a few things went through our head. One glaring question was – Should we really make every dumb thing into a smart thing? It seems to us some things might be better off without the connectivity. But then again if someone can find a use for them without overloading their life with a plethora of apps then all the more power.
Let us know what you think. Also if you have any weird or oddball smart devices share it below. If you liked the read send us a share and thanks for reading.
