Since smartphones and other smart devices started changing our life roughly a decade ago, every tech company has been trying to impress us by making its products intelligent. The firms attending this year's CES, the global consumer electronics and consumer technology trade fair currently underway in Las Vegas, are no exception.
US-based manufacturer Select Comfort wants to put a smart bed, Sleep Number 360, in your living room. After the bed gets used to your sleeping habits, the bed will warm itself before you decide to call it a day, and tune itself when you snore. "It can sense what you're doing in bed and automatically adjust," says Sleep Number's product Development Manager Christine Hamon.
The bed can be connected to one's phone and is able to register data all through nighttime sleep, so one can receive statistics about their sleeping pattern first thing in the morning.
Sticking magnets on your fridge is not cool anymore. What about a camera then? FridgeCam from Smarter app can turn every old fridge smart, by adding a tiny camera inside to help you monitor the storage. Taking it a step further, it can give cooking suggestions according to what ingredients to have in the fridge, and notify you when an item is expiring. Although The Verge contributor Ashley Carman said she "can't tell if this is legitimately useful," it's what's happening in the industry.
The tide of smart products is not only seemingly taking over everyday items, but also those few of us use - and not necessarily for extended periods. Like the breast pump from Willow, that is set to be new moms' best friend. The pump is wearable, hiding inside the bra, with no external tubes, cords, or bottles - a revolution in breastfeeding.
The show in Nevada is nothing short on fun and useful gadgets. However it brings to fore the question: Have we reached an era when the most traditional of items is being reinvented to be smart? The answer is beyond doubt, yes. And that’s when it hits you, that technology has really penetrated our lives to a microcosmic level, and has been surrounding us so conveniently, so effortlessly that we stopped noticing it.
