UPDATED 09:49 EST / JANUARY 20 2014

New SmartHome solutions : Color-changing lights + smart cutting board

This week’s SmartHome roundup features a smart solution for confusing light switches, a cheaper color-changing light bulb, and a chopping board that helps you visualize your nutrition data.

Floor Plan Light Switch

 

Most of us have lived in the same house for years but still find ourselves confused as to which switch turns on the lights in the living room, the porch, or the kitchen.  Designer Taewon Hwang has come up with a switch design to help you flip on the the right switch every time.

The Floor Plan Light Switch is a concept switch that functions like any other, the only difference is that the switch is designed to look like your home’s floor plan so it would be easier for you to identify which switch turns on what light.  The switch features squares or rectangles representing rooms, and these squares light up when not turned on.  Push it to turn on the corresponding light in a specific room.

With this setup, your switch becomes a visual representation of your home’s inner wiring. It can be placed near your front door for easy access to multiple lights around the house, a handy location as you enter and leave your home.  Though this seems to be a good concept, no news yet as to whether this will ever be sold in the market.

BeeWi Smart Color Light

 

Launched at CES 2014, BeeWi’s Smart Color Light is taking on the Philips Hue market with the promise of more features for a fraction of the price. for the door.

First off, BeeWi doesn’t need a hub for users to control it wirelessly.  It connects via Bluetooth and can be controlled using a free iOS or Android app.  Second, it promises 850 lumens, which means it is brighter than 600 lumens the Philips Hue peaks at.  Finally, BeeWi offers the same color scheme as the Philips Hue but it only costs $40 per bulb – in all, cheaper than the $199 Philips Hue kit that comes with three bulbs and a hub.

BeeWi is known for its wireless solutions such as headphones, speakers, transmitters, and even toys.  It plans to sell the Smart Color Light within the next couple of months.

Orange Chef’s Prep Pad

 

image source: The Orange Chef

Cooking is an art, and always open for interpretation in more ways than you think. The Quantified Self movement has made it popular to track various data points about your health and lifestyle, and one new product hopes to help you better visualize your nutritional information. Orange Chef’s latest prep board acts as an iPad companion, displaying the nutritional value of the food items placed upon its surface.

Orange Chef’s product lineup started with the Chef Sleeve, protecting your iPad while being used in the kitchen. Then came the iPad Cutting Board and Stand, holding your iPad steady as you prep food. The startup’s latest is the Prep Pad, which gives you real-time insight to your food.

The Pad uses materials approved by by the National Sanitary Foundation and the Forest Stewardship Council, making it easy to clean and sanitary to use.  But what sets the Prep Pad apart from all the other chopping boards is that it gives you real-time insight data of your food, pairing It pairs with its Countertop App to help people create balanced meals. Place an ingredient on the Prep Pad and see its nutritional value on your iPad.  You can also see how a specific ingredient pairs with another, so you can start experimenting with your cooking.


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