Hasta La Gadget!

I wake the neighbors up every morning with the screeching mechanical drone of my blender tearing fruit into a smoothie. Or I would, if I ever hauled my lazy ass out of bed before the neighbors had all left for work. The horrible metallic buzz still disturbs me, though, and usually means I have to splash a slug of scotch into the smoothie just to take the edge off my hangover.

So you can imagine my excitement over the Electrolux Powermix Silent, a blender which runs quiet enough that you can hold a conversation while you use it. Electrolux even promises that it won’t wake up a sleeping child, as if anyone cares.

The blender looks like any other fashion blender, with a 1.5 liter jug and a body that comes in “two trendy colors: antique steel and deep aubergine.” The “silent” mode is simply a matter of good engineering, with better air-flow and vibration damping in the 600-watt motor.

It’s not actually silent, though. The blender puts out 80dB, which is ten times less than the 90dB my blender screams through my apartment, but still significant. Looking for comparisons on the web, 80dB comes in somewhere between an average toilet flushing and an electric shaver. Not bad.

Electrolux is also claiming that the jug’s conical shape is also innovative, causing a vortex that pulls food down onto the blades. As an experienced blender user, I can say that pretty much every blender does this once it gets going.

The Powermix Silent is available now in some European markets for €140 ($200).

Electrolux Powermix Silent [Electrolux via Oh Gizmo]

See Also:

• Review: Blendtec Total Blender— Whippin' it Good
• Blender With Built in Tachometer
• Gas-Powered Bar Blender Makes Girl-Drinks More Manly
• Video: Cigarette Lighter Plus Blender Equals Dangerous Fireball …

Some emotional robots dip deep into the dark recesses of the uncanny valley, where our threshold for human mimicry resides. Emoti-bots on the other hand, manage to skip the creepy human-like pitfalls of other emo-machines, instead employing household objects to ape the most pathetic of human emotions — specifically dejection and insecurity. Sure it sounds sad, but the mechanized furniture designed by a pair of MFA students is actually quite clever. Using a hacked Roomba and an Arduino, the duo created a chair that reacts to your touch, and wanders aimlessly once your rump has disembarked. They’ve also employed Nitinol wires, a DC motor, and a proximity sensor to make a lamp that seems to tire with use. We prefer our lamps to look on the sunny side of life, but for those of you who like your fixtures forlorn, the Emoti-bots are now on display at Parsons in New York and can be found moping about in the video after the break.

Continue reading Emoti-bots turn household objects into mopey machines (video)

Emoti-bots turn household objects into mopey machines (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 May 2011 06:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  Emoti-bots  | Email this | Comments

Lockitron. Even the name inspires a feeling of security. Security administered by giant Japanese robots, perhaps, but security nonetheless. Lockitron is a door lock that you can unlock with your cellphone.

It works like this. You replace either part or all of your door lock with Lockitron’s parts (depending on the kind of lock you have). Then, when you get home you fire up the app on your phone and hit the “unlock” button. That’s it. There is also a “lock” button for when you leave, and you can give access to a friend just by sending them an SMS with a code that lets them use their phone to open the door.

The Lockitron can also be used with an optional NFC (near field communication) add-on. This sticks onto the lock and when you wave your NFC-equipped phone in front of it it will open the door for you.

What’s not to like? If you have an NFC phone like the Nexus S, then you can now leave not only your wallet but your keys at home. Just make sure you don’t lose your cellphone, or you are royally screwed.

The Lockitron starts at $295, and is available now.

Lockitron product page [Lockitron]

See Also:

• Apple Adding NFC Contact-Less Payment to iPhone 5, Consultants …
• Remote Control Your Car With Your iPhone

Can’t decide between an awesome pool table which the boys will love, or a dining table/desk which might keep you from becoming single and having to hang out with those boys all the time? Well, here’s some good news. For just $20,000 you can have both.

That’s right. Fancy French pool-table company Chevillotte will sell you the convertible “Very(Tables)”, a table which manages the astonishing feat of looking good both as a desk and as a game.

By day (and night, I guess) you can work and eat on the minimalist aluminum desk. But when the need takes you, just remove the baize-protecting top (in three sections) and crank a handle. The center section of the table drops down to make the flat bed, and reveals the cushions and holes. A clever network of metal rods makes channels that guide the balls once sunk, and an electric version can be had for a mere $4,500 more.

It’s perfect, and will please everyone in your home. Just don’t tell anyone how much you spent.

Chevillotte tables [Chevillotte via Home Leisure Direct and Oh Gizmo!]

See Also:

• Glass Pool Table Costs $26000
• Laser-Guide Your Billiards Game

The Numi toilet is a throne fit for a constipated king

Since I got an iPad, I have been able to easily spend a good part of the morning sat on the lavatory, catching up on news and sinking just one more putt in Super Stickman Golf. But if I somehow managed to install Kohler’s Numi toilet in my ancient, crumbling bathroom I’d probably spend the entire day in there (I might also need to install an opening window).

What makes the Numi so special that Kohler calls it its “most advanced toilet”? Pretty much everything, that’s what. When you first enter the bathroom you can wave a hand like Ben Kenobi and the lid and seat will lift. Then you can settle onto the seat, which is heated to your preferred temperature.

Vents at floor level send out warm air to keep your feet warm as you catch up on the latest tech news on your tablet computer, and glowing light panels illuminate the room softly enough that you don’t see distracting reflections in your glossy screen.

As you empty your bowels, you can do so to the soundtrack of your choice, thanks to the built-in speakers with FM radio and input jack. I prefer Wagners’s Ride of the Valkyries, but Brian Eno’s 1/1 would be more soothing.

Then, when you are done, the bidet kicks into action, swooshing your nether regions with pulsating or oscillating water jets (or a combination of both). An air dryer will then take over, and finally a deodorizer sucks foul air through a charcoal filter. All you need to do is pull up your pants.

The Numi comes with its own touch-screen remote, which sits in a magnetic docking station. Should you accidentally flush the remote, there are a few buttons on the toilet itself which control the basic functions. Finally, the settings can be customized for each person in the house.

How much will this amazing throne cost you? That’s the $64,000 question. Actually, it’s the $6,400 question ($6,400 is the answer). You’ll probably save that much in 100 years, just by not buying toilet paper.

Oh, and you really, really have to go see the video on the product page. The Numi is placed in a glass-walled room which overlooks the city at night, and the camera swoops sensuously around the toilet and a waiting man and woman. It’s a hilarious attempt to make taking a dump look sexy.

Numi product page [Kohler via Uncrate]

See Also:

• Toepener: Open Bathroom Door With Your Feet
• Sat Lav: Toilet Locations Via Cellphone in London
• $75000 Toilet Made Of Crushed Glass
• Bathroom Mirror Packs iPod Controls, Clock, Barometer