This week’s Smart Living roundup features connected lamps to bring loved ones closer, a smart home solution for renters and the first home-car automation integration.

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Good Night Lamp

Whether you’re heading across country for college or a new job, moving away from friends and family can leave you homesick. To keep loved ones connected, Good Night Lamp uses house-shaped lighting and automation to your benefit. Offered in various sizes, the Big Lamp has an on and off switch that automatically turns on the Little Lamp even if it’s in another country. Turning on the lamp sends a message that someone’s at home and may be free to chat, or just letting you know that you are not alone.

The Good Night Lamp is powered by Eseye, which delivers five years of global cellular connectivity for the lamps so it doesn’t need to be set up or connected to Wi-Fi or ethernet to work. The bulbs used in each lamp promises 50,000 hours or bulb life, plus the outside of the lamps can be used as wipeable writing or drawing surface.

The Good Night Lamp is currently sold out, but it is priced at £279 and only ships in Europe and the U.K., but works globally.

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Switchmate – smart home solution for renters

Forget about drilling and wiring smart light switches in your rented or owned abode with Switchmate, a connected light switch that’s can be installed literally in a snap. You just need to snap it over your existing light switch and you’re good to go.

“Smart products are supposed to make our lives simpler, but their set-up alone is often needlessly complicated,” said Switchmate founder Daniel Peng. “And for those of us who don’t own property, those installation processes aren’t just complicated, they’re impossible. Switchmate is accessible for everyone – renters, home-owners, students, nomads – anyone that wants the convenience of a connected home without the hassle of connecting it.”

Using the iOS or Android companion app, users can register each Switchmate and easily turn lights on or off, or set schedules to automatically turn them on or off.

You can back Switchmate on Indiegogo and get the Super Early Bird 3 pack for only $99.

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AT&T connects smart cars to smart homes

At the Mobile World Congress event this week, AT&T announced the integration of its connected car platform AT&T Drive to its home automation platform AT&T Digital Life. This integration will allow automakers to integrate home automation and security features such as connected door locks, lighting, thermostat control and the garage door opener to be manageable through the dashboard control panel and voice recognition of their car.

“The integration of Digital Life into the Drive platform shows how by combining the car and home, we’re forward-thinking about the kinds of features consumers will come to expect from their cars,” said Chris Penrose, senior vice president, Internet of Things, AT&T Mobility. “We’re offering the best solutions by further mobilizing people’s lives.”