unusual new inventions

“For an idea that does not first seem insane, there is no hope.” A. Einstein

Amabrush brushes your teeth for you in 10 seconds!  It is an electric toothbrush with wireless charging.  It will brush your teeth in 10-15 seconds, hands free, using ultrasonic brushing. The mouthpiece is made from antibacterial silicone that the makers claim kills 99.99% of all bacteria in your mouth.  Amabrush does this with 3D bristles on both sides.

It will clean your teeth perfectly and also prevent gum damage. The flexible mouthpiece fits all adults. Toothpaste is dispensed automatically. You might look a little odd with it in your mouth, but if all the claims are true, it will all be worth it.  On sale for $56.99.

Denso Vacuum Shoes suck up debris and dirt while you walk.  These are officially called Ecology Shoes, invented by an employee at Denso, a Japanese auto company as part of an internal company contest to create an innovative and creative product. There is a pedal in the heel of each shoe which is powered every time you take a step and the vacuum element sucks up the dust, dirt and debris with every step.  Stylish they are not.  They are also not yet for sale.

The Hushme voice masker protects speech privacy when speaker is on the phone in open space offices or public spaces. This is for the situation when we must answer or place an important call, but we need privacy and do not want anyone to be able to eavesdrop.  Hushme is a personal acoustic device that will protect your speech privacy and reduce noise pollution when you are in open space environments.

It has a normal headset mode, and it has a passive voice muffling mode.  In the normal mode, it connects to the smartphone via Bluetooth and is used as a hands-free headset to speak on the phone or listen to music. In the passive voice muffling mode it is locked over the mouth.  The insulation materials embedded inside the mask and mouthpiece are made from hypoallergenic material.  People at a distance of up to 3 feet can’t understand your words but the person on the other end of the call can hear your voice clearly and undistorted thanks to a built-in microphone. The mouthpiece is removable for cleaning or replacement. The mask size is adjustable to fit any face. It can also be used with a PC or gaming device. It is battery-operated with 10 hours of battery life. $149.00.

Note:  Orders are temporarily suspended due to the Coronavirus outbreak in China, but pre-ordering is possible.

Laundroid is a laundry-folding robot that uses multiple robotic arms to pick up clothes and scan each article.  It is connected by Wi-Fi to a server that has 256,000 images of different clothing items and uses artificial intelligence to analyze and identify each object.  The robot arms determine the best way to fold the clothing – where to hold it up and how it should be folded.  It will take a couple of hours for it to finish folding a load of laundry.  This start-up was backed by Panasonic and Japan’s largest homebuilder, Daiwa House.  The initial investment was $90 million.  The initial price tag was $16,000. Sadly, the company declared bankruptcy a few months ago, so mass production of the robots has been delayed.  The founders are hopeful they will relaunch soon.

Kohler                                                      Moen

Smart hands-free faucets respond to voice commands from Alexa and Google Assistant.  You can tell the faucet what temperature to dispense the water, and how much (8oz for a cup of tea, or one tablespoon for a recipe for example). In addition to being convenient, this technology will help reduce water waste.  Smart faucets are battery powered and made by Kohler (Sensate faucets, $878 ) and Moen (U by Moen, $704.82). Now, if it would only wash the dishes…

The Box is a system designed by French start up Living Packets SAS that could replace all cardboard boxes. It has a sturdy body, e-ink screen for shipping info, internal sensors, a camera, internet access to verify the safety of the contents, and a battery that lasts for 1,000 deliveries.  The proposed cost to the shipper would be $2.00 per delivery.  After 1,000 deliveries it goes back to its maker to be recharged and refurbished.  The Box is spacious enough to handle about 80% of all deliveries.  Internal webbing helps hold small items in place, so no bubble wrap required.

Recipients can then reuse the box themselves (at the same cost) or drop it off at a designated drop-off site. The goal is to “revolutionize product shipments by eliminating waste packaging.” A pre-release version of The Box is currently being tested.   It recently won the CES 2020 Innovation Award Product.

Ballie by Samsung is a rolling robot ball with electronics.  It has a camera and image-recognition software for patrolling your home, speakers, a microphone to communicate with you, and sensors to gauge where objects are.  It has wireless support to control all your smart home gadgets. It is the size of a tennis ball. It is a ‘fitness assistant to get you moving, a remote control that helps seniors to connect with the smart devices in their homes and a new friend to your kids and pets’.  It will send videos to its homeowner while they are at work.  If an ‘incident’ happens like the dog knocking something over, Ballie will detect the incident, request the Roomba to clean it up and return the Roomba to its charging station.  Pricing and a release date have not been announced.

The Motion Pillow2 by 10Minds aims to solve snoring problems.  It combines a memory foam pillow with technology that is programmed to detect, record and analyze snoring problems and send that information to the app on your smartphone.  A box on your night table is connected to the app and when it detects active snoring it inflates four airbags built into the pillow.  The pillow inflates in various positions and gently moves the head around until the snoring stops.  The second generation of this pillow, Motion Pillow2 will be released soon at a price of $420.  The first generation is currently available for $318.00.