22-23 PE Trends in SDA.qxp_PROGRESSIVE ELECTRICAL 24/05/2017 15:26 Page 23
Technology focus
Sweet dreams - from Terraillon Exhibiting within Exclusively Electrical’s sister show, Exclusively Housewares, Terraillon will launch Homni – a plugged-in device to aid optimum sleep, and looks forward to introducing NutriSmart, the world’s first connected kitchen scale with embedded SCiO spectroscopy technology (for insights such as the type, maturity and origin for any kind of food weighed as well as nutritional value) in the UK next year.” Trade and brand marketing manager for Terraillon UK, Linda Phoutthasak comments: “Terraillon’s experience in digital measurement technology has enabled us to constantly innovate and create our new connected ecosystem of products, which have a place in all parts of the house, from kitchens to bathrooms. This is why we’re extremely excited about the launch of Homni, which will strengthen Terraillon’s ecosystem, as sleep is a core component of wellbeing and weight management.” Linda reflects on the evolution of the connected home: ”With widespread high-speed broadband internet connections in the home and the explosive number of connected health applications being available, combined with a real need for convenience, consumers now have the opportunity to enhance their wellbeing in the comfort of their home.” She elaborates: “This includes using remote monitoring technology to get conditions diagnosed online, having personal training at home with a virtual trainer via live or on-demand video or tracking and quantifying health and wellbeing through the use of connected bathroom scales, fitness trackers and kitchen scales. Indeed, the connected home is a highly exciting prospect, and retailers as well as consumers are rapidly adapting to this new trend. Possibly by 2020, we will start to see a real takeover and consistent implementation of more and more smart home devices across the UK.” Linda explains how Homni can help users to create the conditions for a good night’s sleep: “Thanks to its four sensors, this intelligent lamp promotes healthy sleep with adapted light cycles and ambient sounds to help users wake up and fall asleep gently. Connected to the new Terraillon dedicated app, Homni analyses the temperature, light, humidity and noise levels in the room to provide users with tips to achieve a good sleep quality and understand disturbances at night." The package also comes with “Dot, a button-shaped sensor which is placed under the user’s pillow to automatically and accurately analyse sleep cycles and duration; and Rest-On, a sensor in a form of a belt, which analyses heart and respiratory rates.”
experienced 30% growth in the US, worth around $1billion.” The Alchema app takes any guesswork out of the brewing process: users select a recipe, add the appropriate ingredients and wait around one week. The appliance incorporates a medical grade UVC LED light to sanitise the container and monitors the fermentation process. The cider maker is designed for international markets as it connects to a plug socket via a USB adapter, and Oscar foresees the growth of the recipeswapping Alchema global community. Also at the IH+HS, Picobrew demonstrated how its automated, IoT (Internet of Things) beer-brewing appliance that can brew five litres of craft beer in about two hours and has a grain-to-glass serving time of seven to 10 days. PicoPak ingredient packs (which are compostable) contain the fresh hops and grains needed to brew fresh, professional quality craft beers. Having partnered with over 150 craft brewers to date, Picobrew claims you can create some of your favourite beers at home, and invites enthusiasts to use its ‘freestyle tool’ to muster up personal craft recipes. Developments in smart tea and coffee brewing were also in evidence at the IH+HS, including Gourmia’s Electric Square Tea Maker and Behmor’s Connected Coffee Maker. The latter has “automatic altitude correction as water's boiling point is effected with one degree,” says founder, Joe Behm. His connected brewer is integrated with Amazon’s Alexa Voice Service and offers the Amazon Dash Replenishment Scheme. In the interests of better coffee for the future, Joe has also set a programme to link coffee bean farmers to the end result, for example “so that producers in Guatemala can taste the coffee made from their own beans.” • To listen to the IH+HS’ discussion on the Smart Home’s impact on the Housewares Industry (including the challenge of fragmentation of apps or platforms, and approaches to marketing the benefits of smart devices) go to www.housewares.org/edication/presentationswebinars • For more on exhibitors at Chicago’s IH+HS (March 10-13 2018) see www.housewares.org/housewaresconnect365
Above: Warm glow from Homni by Terraillon, which will be showcased at Exclusively Housewares.
One small step for mankind’s coffee? American inventor, Jacob Svec’s passion for coffee and science has led to his creation of the Perk (now ready for production thanks to Jacob’s successful Kickstarter campaign and recent tour of specialist coffee houses across the US). Jakub previously worked in the fields of nanotechnology and microlithography and has applied his expertise in precision technology to the creation of a new “precision coffee brewing experience.” Jacob describes Perk as “an innovative, fully-automated coffee machine that simulates the pour-over method currently preferred by specialty coffee shops.” His personal interest in flight and space provided inspiration for his product development. Jacob told PH: “As a former commercial pilot, I became interested in studying aeronautical engineering for low gravity environments. Some time into this, I was reading about astronaut diets and thought about what a coffee machine would look like. The first prototype I built eventually turned into Perk." He admits that thinking about the parameters of low gravity “gave me an opportunity to think about the problem in a completely new way, and when we are talking about a category of machines that have been being designed since the late 1800's, it is not easy to come up with something completely new!” Jacob explains: “The patent-pending technology makes it possible to control temperature control and extraction uniformity without agitating each cup constantly by hand. Effectively, this simple, lightweight machine replicates the motions of a trained barista, with push-button convenience.”
Above: Pour over coffee loving inventor, Jacob Svec with his Perk machine in his home lab in the US. It has already received high praise, including that of author and coffee expert, Scott Rao who is quoted:” I have never seen a coffee machine this capable for less than $10,000.”
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