At this year’s virtual tech megashow, gadgets to protect you from Covid-19 are all the rage. But do you need a connected mask and a personal air purifier? What about a doorbell that takes your temperature? WSJ’s Joanna Stern checks out this new gear—from her basement. Photo illustration: Preston Jessee for The Wall Street Journal
Tag Archives: Smart Technology
CES 2021 Products: ‘BioLite Smokeless Fire Pit’ (Video)
Jeff Bakalar speaks with BioLite, a company that has invented a smart firepit that actually lets you adjust the intensity of the flame and reduces smoke. The camping-focused device also has a full line of cooking accessories and can burn charcoal or wood. And yeah, it can charge your phone too.
FirePit plus all its accessories in one awesome bundle. The BioLite FirePit is an award-winning smokeless firepit that burns standard firewood or charcoal depending on your needs. Patented airflow system injects oxygen to burn off smoke before it has a chance to escape the fire while the X-Ray Mesh body gives you a full view into your flames. Included grill grate works with charcoal to transform your pit into a hibachi-style grill.
Consumers: ‘CES 2021’ – World’s Biggest Tech Show, Jan 10-14 (Video)
As CES goes online for the first time, we preview the most-anticipated products and trends (and what’s missing) at the world’s biggest tech show.
Future Of Housing: An ‘Autonomous Off-Grid Smart Home Interior’
haus.me Autonomous Off-the-Grid Smart House interior. Luxury hi-tech house delivered fully assembled and furnished. Absolutely self-sustainable smart house. details: http://haus.me
Future Housing: ‘iOhouse – The Space’ Is A Fully Off-Grid, Prefab Smart Home
iOhouse has built a luxurious fully off-grid living space for people who value privacy, design and nature, called the Space.
All the utilities you need are integrated and completely autonomous, including water, electricity, heating and Wi-Fi. A smart device is all that is required to monitor and manage your living experience.
The SPACE offers you the most advanced conveniences of modern life with the smallest ecological footprint. Our model has been constructed only with the best premium materials and we genuinely believe this is the future of modern living.
Smart Technology: ‘The Internet Of Bodies’ (IoB)
Internet-connected “smart” devices are increasingly available in the marketplace, promising consumers and businesses improved convenience and efficiency. Within this broader Internet of Things (IoT) lies a growing industry of devices that monitor the human body and transmit the data collected via the internet.
This development, which some have called the Internet of Bodies (IoB), includes an expanding array of devices that combine software, hardware, and communication capabilities to track personal health data, provide vital medical treatment, or enhance bodily comfort, function, health, or well-being. However, these devices also complicate a field already fraught with legal, regulatory, and ethical risks. In this video,
RAND mathematician Mary Lee examines this emerging collection of human body–centric and internet-connected technologies; explores their benefits, security and privacy risks, and ethical implications; surveys the nascent regulatory landscape for these devices and the data they collect; and makes recommendations to balance IoB risks and rewards.
Read more about the Internet of Bodies here: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_re…
Personal Technology: Comparing iPhone 12 Vs iPhone 12 Pro (WSJ Video)
To get those crazy-fast 5G speeds on Apple’s iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro, you have to find the 5G. So WSJ’s Joanna Stern set up on the field at MetLife Stadium to put the new phones — including their cameras and improved durable body — through the paces.
Energy Of The Future: ‘Powering Cities With A Virutual Power Plant’
Residential solar panels and battery backups are becoming more and more popular as efficiency rises and costs sink. This explosion in distributed solar makes a new idea possible: virtual power plants, or a smart network of individual solar panels that can act like a big power plant when electricity is needed most. And as extreme weather threatens many communities, this idea is arriving in the nick of time.
Learn more: https://www.theverge.com/e/21288017
Leisure Post-Covid: “The Time To Reinvent Travel”
From McKinsey & Company (June 15, 2020):
As travel companies redesign their traveler experiences to address risks and anxieties related to COVID-19, they should remember that the pain points and trends that existed before the crisis—such as the shift toward a more digital and personalized journey, and an increased emphasis on wellness and sustainability—have not gone away.
Many initiatives can make the travel experience simultaneously better and safer. Housekeeping services, for instance, will need to adjust for safety concerns, but revised protocols can also reduce environmental impact (such as through less-frequent 
laundering of sheets during each stay), decrease cost, and give guests more flexibility (by letting them choose their own housekeeping schedule).
Companies should empower customers to build their own itinerary using smarter, connected digital tools and make it easier for them to modify or cancel their plans. In addition, companies must recognize that the factors that promote customer loyalty may now have shifted; near-term uncertainty may mean, for example, that the ability to cancel a reservation matters more than brand choice or price.
Hi-Tech Mobile Housing: “The Space By IO House” – Self-Contained, Off-Grid
The SPACE by IO House is a modern living solution requiring absolutely nothing from the “grid.” All the utilities you need are integrated and completely autonomous, including water, electricity, heating and wifi. A smart device is all that is required to monitor and manage your living experience.
The SPACE comes fully equipped with furniture, appliances, and the necessary gadgets to control them.
This includes a built-in kitchen, bathroom, heating and cooling systems, as well as a smart air ventilation with oxygen level control. Incredibly, all this can be managed at your fingertips through your smartphone. All aspects of the smart home technology have been carefully thought through and the SPACE provides all necessities required for a comfortable, stress free living.
