UPDATED 12:36 EDT / APRIL 27 2015

What you missed in the Smart World: Sexy furniture that weighs you, nail art that controls your world

Nova Lifestyle smart furnitureThis week’s Smart World Series features stackable switches that not only conduct electricity but also transmits data, smart city initiatives across the globe, game-changing wearable devices, nail art that turns your thumbnail into a trackpad and how health monitoring is moving away from wearable devices.

For those who missed last week’s Smart World Series, here’s a chance to catch up on the exciting developments in the connected world.  Each week, SiliconANGLE rounds up the top news trends regarding smart homes and cars, smart data centers and IT, smart infrastructure and all things related to the Internet of Things.

Avaya’s new stackable switches can conduct electricity to connected devices

Avaya Inc. recently introduced the ERS 5900, which is a family of stackable switches that implements a beefed-up version of the Power over Ethernet (PoE) wiring that allows for twice the electrical conductivity needed in powering emerging categories of connected devices. The series will not only power stationary appliances but also transmit data over the network.

Read more about Avaya’s new stackable switches here.

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When smart cities talk: Urban machine chatter trends around the world

Smart city initiatives are spreading across the globe as more and more devices and infrastructure connect to the Internet. These connected devices aim to make sense of what we need, what problems need to be addressed and what can be improved upon. You’ll be amazed as to how different cities across the globe are implementing smart city initiatives such as Boston’s smart trash cans, Moscow’s smart benches that tells you your weight, Singapore’s smart parking system that makes it easier for people to find a parking spot, Barcelona’s interactive bus stop that improves commuter’s experience, to name a few.

Read more about these various smart city initiatives here.

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Microsoft Hololens Revealed

Image courtesy Microsoft

5 game-changing wearable developments for 2015

The global wearable market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 35 percent over the next five years with device shipment reaching up to 148 million in 2019. We can expect various types of wearable technology that do more than keep track of steps or weight to emerge over the next years, but at present, there are already some devices that offer standout features as well as appealing design such as the Apple Watch, Microsoft’s HoloLens, Intel’s wearable devices, GOQii Fitness and the Google-TAG Heuer smartwatch.

Read more about these wearable devices here.

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Nail art just got smart: NailO controls smartphones, lights and more

Interacting with the digital world may soon be as easy as tracing lines on your thumbnail once NailO goes out to market. NailO is nail art embedded with sensors that turns your thumbnail into a trackpad which you can use to control your smartphone, tablet or even laptop.

Also featured in this roundup is the Leeo Smart Alert Nightlight which turns makes your old, dumb smoke or carbon monoxide detector into a smart one, and a robot chef designed after a U.K. MasterChef that is capable of creating gourmet meals right in your home.

Read more about these revolutionary products in our Smart Living roundup.

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Vital-Radio will monitor your heart rate and breathing through your Wi-Fi router

Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have come up with a way to monitor a person’s heart and breathing rates without the use of wearable technology but a Wi-Fi router. Called the Vital-Radio, the device works like a radar and transmits signals that is able to penetrate walls and uses an algorithm that allows it to distinguish between humans and inanimate objects to get accurate readings.

The technology is currently far from perfect, however, as it can only accurately monitor heart and breathing rate if the person is stationary.

Read more about Vital-Radio here.

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New furniture tracks your health, from weight to blood pressure

Wearable technology may be a thing of the past as sitting or lying on top of a Smart Health Furniture from Nova LifeStyle Inc. could monitor your blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, weight, body temperature, sleep quality and other physiological indexes.

Also featured in this roundup is the collaboration between Qualcomm Life Inc. and Cerner Corp. for health monitoring, and the new One Drop app that aims to make it easier for people with diabetes to monitor their condition as well as get in touch with others so they can share tips and tricks in managing their condition.

Read more about these in our Smart Health roundup.

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Tune in next week for more interesting stories, discoveries and innovations in the world of smart and connected things.


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