UPDATED 12:00 EDT / APRIL 22 2015

What you missed in the Smart World: Park bench that tells your weight, and more NEWS

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

This week’s Smart Living roundup features nail art stickers that serve as more than just body decoration, a device that makes sense of your old smoke detector and the robotic chef of the future.

NailO

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NailO thumbnail trackpad

The MIT Media Lab has introduced a new way of interacting with the digital world, in the form of a smart wearable nail art. Called NailO, the thumbnail-sized nail art is embedded with sensors, a circuit and battery to be able to transmit actions to connected devices. NailO serves as a trackpad that can be worn on your nail and control your smartphone, tablet, laptop and even other connected devices such as a connected light fixture or smart TV.

You can control devices using various gestures such as pressing on the nail art, swiping left/right or up/down and even supports multi-finger gestures.

So where would you use such technology? The team behind NailO believes that wearing its nail art is like having a third hand, as you can perform additional tasks such as going through a recipe while cooking without having to touch your laptop, as you can control it right on your thumb. The team is also looking into making various art plates that can easily be put on top of the sensors to make the nail art more personalized for the user. No news yet as to when this device will be available for consumers.

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Leeo Smart Alert Nightlight

For $99, you can turn your old smoke and carbon monoxide detector into a smart one, with the Leeo Smart Alert Nightlight. The device easily plugs into your wall socket and connects to your home Wi-Fi. When your smoke or carbon monoxide detector is set off, Leeo is able to detect the sound and alerts you via an iOS or Android app installed on your smartphone that it has been triggered. You can use the app to call the fire department or automatically send alerts to your emergency contacts or even your neighbors.

The device also serves as a nightlight with a simple twist to the device. The brightness can be adjusted and it also provides 16 billion color options to choose from. Aside from the said features, Leeo also monitors temperature and humidity in your home and sends custom climate alerts to your phone so you can make the appropriate adjustments to keep the temperature comfortable. This device is great for people who are still testing the waters with regards to smart home devices plus a great way to retrofit your home without spending too much.

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Moley Robotics’ robot chef

Have no talent in cooking? No worries, your future may include your very own robot chef thanks to London-based Moley Robotics. The prototype of the robot chef was unveiled at the Hanover Messe technology fair and showcased two robotic arms designed in collaboration with Shadow Robot, Yachtline, DYSEGNO, Sebastian Conran and Bangladesh’s Stamford University Professor Mark Cutkosky.

The cooking skills used in the robot chef were inspired by Master Chef Tim Anderson, winner of BBC’s Master Chef. Anderson’s skills in cooking were recorded and used in the robot chef which means if you have the robot chef installed in your home, it would be like having Master Chef Anderson cooking for you. The robot chef is able to replicate over 2,000 recipes.

Moley Robotics plans to have the robot chef commercially ready in about two years with a price tag of $15,000, and will come with a connected dishwasher, refrigerator, stove and sink as well as a software that is able to track the contents of the fridge and pantry so it knows what recipes it can cook.


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