This week’s Smart Living roundup features a ‘transparent’ truck, an energy-saving solution that taps into your home’s breaker box and a revamped product line for one smart home service provider.

Samsung Safety Truck

Some car makers may be focused on automating consumer vehicles, but Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is honing in on road safety related to 18-wheeler trucks seen on every highway across America.

The company introduced the Samsung Safety Truck, which features a wireless camera attached in front of the big rig and four monitors attached at the back. The setup allows the vehicle behind the Safety Truck be able to see the road ahead of the truck so drivers will know if it’s safe to pass the truck or not. The design of the truck is also helpful in preventing road pileups caused by sudden braking related to animals crossing the road or other unexpected nuisances.

The Samsung Safety Truck has been tested in Argentina, but the prototype used for the project is no longer in commission. Samsung is now working on collaborating with international government and non government organizations, and securing the necessary permits to bring this project to fruition.

Curb your energy consumption with this new device

If you really want to know how much electricity you consume in real-time, a crowdfunding project on Indiegogo Inc. called Curb can help you with that.

Curb is a device that connects to a home’s breaker box, and using an app on your smartphone or tablet, it allows homeowners to monitor how much electricity is being consumed in real-time and which appliances are consuming the most. This will help households determine which appliances they need to cut back in using in order to consume less energy, plus there’s a feature that predicts how much your bill is going to cost based on daily consumption. The system also delivers notifications such as when an appliance is left running, when there are changes in consumption or if the monthly limit is being exceeded.

You can fund Curb on Indiegogo for $249.

Nest updates its product line

Nest Labs Inc. has revamped its line of smart home devices. The new product line now includes the Nest Cam, second generation Nest Protect, improved Nest Learning Thermostat, and Nest 5.0 app.

The Nest Cam features full high-definition (1080p) video quality, a versatile stand, and improved motion alerts and night vision that allows users to see what’s happening in their homes from anywhere. This new product is the culmination of Nest’s acquisition of Dropcam Inc. in 2014 for $555 million.

“At Nest, we always wanted to build more than a thermostat,” said Tony Fadell, Nest chief executive officer. “Our vision was to create a thoughtful home – a home that takes care of itself and the people in it. Five years later, all the pieces are in place. We’ve built a portfolio of best-in-class products that each stand on their own while doing more together.”

The new line of products not only help in saving energy but also save lives and even capture memories.

Image source: Samsung