Smarter Gadgets

According to dictionary.com, nanotechnology is the science and technology of building electronic circuits and devices from single atoms and molecules, and any fabrication technology in which objects are designed and built by the specification and placement of individual atoms or molecules or where at least one dimension is on a scale of nanometers.

By producing miniature electric and computer systems, via nanotechnology, smaller electronic gadgets become economically viable.  Gadgets become smaller and lighter, may need to use less battery power, and can have increased functionality for less money.

Using nanocrystals, batteries could be fully charged in only six minutes.  Socks utilizing nanoparticles eliminate bacteria and foot order.  The list of possibilties for using this technology to create new or better gadgets is almost endless.

Nanotechnology can also be used in medical fields as well.  For example, drugs using nanotechnology, can speed the delivery time throughout the body from three hours to 20 minutes.  Or perhaps microscopic implants will travel through arteries to detect illnesses and fight disease.

There are many who oppose nanotechnology, fearing nanobots will self-replicate and take over the world, or may be used as the newest form of global weaponry.  Obviously, as with all new technology and medical advancements, care must be taken to use the technology responsibly.  Nanotechnology, however, holds huge potential for changing our lives and our products in ways that are still hard to even imagine.

Samsung now offers a sophisticated microwave oven called the Smart Oven, which is a combination of a convection, grill and microwave oven.  The cool part though is that even a novice can cook food to perfection because the oven allows the user to swipe a barcode on packaged foods, which the oven then reads, and cooks the food perfectly.

Once the barcode is scanned, all the user has to do is insert the food into the oven and press the start button. The oven will do everything else.

Want more coolness?  The enamel interior of the Smart Oven is anti-bacterial and can be cleaned easily, thanks to the innovative built in steam cleaning. Fill a water bowl, place it in the Smart Oven and press start. Grease and oil are easily removed with a wipe of a cloth.

This oven cooks all by itself, and cleans all by itself.  What more could you ask for?

At least since the days of the Jetsons, we’ve thought about having flying cars.  Terrafugia, a start-up created by Lemelson-MIT Student Prize winner Carl Dietrich and others at MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics is working to give us just that.  They’ve named this upcoming prototype, The Transition, which they describe as a “personal air vehicle”.

With folding wings, this car will go from automobile to plane as needed.  It will be designed for 100 to 500 mile jumps, and will cruise up to 12,000 feet.

It will probably be a fully operational prototype by 2008, with actual models available by 2009 or 2010.

Not all mobile gadgets are small.  Sometimes mobility comes in the form of a flying car.  Although I’d love to own one, I’d actually be happy with just a car that has wheels that turn sideways, so that I could easily parallel-park.

U.S. Department of Energy Laboratory researchers have been working on getting smart appliances to communicate with the local power grid.  This would enable the appliances to determine when it would be most beneficial to power down, or use less energy.  They liken the technology to “shock absorbers” for the power grid.

When the power grid is having a difficult time supplying enough energy to all of its consumers, a dryer, for example, could turn off its heating unit for a few minutes to momentarily conserve power, while still tumbling your clothes to avoid wrinkles.  In fact, researchers are testing the project by issuing free dryers to select consumers with high-speed Internet access in several cities.  Similar functionality could be utilized by freezers, such as knowing when to defrost and when not to.

Researchers believe consumers won’t even notice any change in the behavior of their appliances, but the energy grid could benefit substantially by this.

A couple of kooky kitchen appliances are being worked on and may eventually come to the market.  One is a talking stove that tells you when the water has boiled, plays a ringtone when the oven is preheated, and even reads recipes to the novice cook.  Another is a soft, foldable refrigerator that can be made shorter, taller, or easily carried around.  The kitchen of the future is going to look a lot different than it does now.

So, you are standing in front of the latest gizmo at your local store, and are considering purchasing it. But you haven’t gone online yet to check out what the buzz is. What do others think of this gizmo? How is it rated? You don’t know, but Toshiba will allow you to find out right there in the store.

Simply take a picture of the product’s barcode with a cellphone’s digital camera, and Toshiba’s new service will scan the internet for product reviews on up to 100 blogs, in 10 seconds flat. Just like that, you’ll know if that gizmo is getting rave reviews or being trashed by consumers.

Toshiba will be testing the software in Japan soon and may offer it as a service on cell phones before April 2007.

I thought I would start off by referencing an article on USAToday.com, which has an excellent overview of how everyday gadgets in our lives are getting smart. Here are a few excerpts from the article.

You can buy a backyard telescope loaded with global position satellite (GPS) technology so it can point out which stars you’re viewing. At one university, each parking meter has a chip and antenna so you can call it with your cellphone and buy more time.

And then there are the touch-screen sewing machines that can download images to embroider, gas station pumps that run Microsoft Windows, and shipping crates that can call their owners for help if they’re lost.

Another appliance maker, Salton, has introduced the Beyond Microwave. When you need to heat packaged food, swipe the bar code past the microwave’s reader. Stored inside are 4,000 settings for different products. A wireless Internet connection allows the microwave to download new ones all the time. Salton’s microwave reads the bar code, sets the right time and power level, and all you do is push start.

Maya Design is bringing out a layer of technology it calls Home Heartbeat. It connects sensors on washing machines, microwaves, doors and other fixtures in a house. The system, in turn, can generate text messages that can be sent to a cellphone. So a homeowner can program the system to tell her every time the front door opens and the TV turns on ‘ a good sign the kids arrived home from school.

These are just a few of the many ways that our lives are going to be changed dramatically by smart devices and interconnected technology. SmarterGadgets.com aims to keep you in the loop so that you don’t miss out on any of the smart gadgets that become available.