6 easy, affordable smart home features that could help you sell your house faster…RE/MAX 17 February 2017 Fresh paint on the walls, professional staging and an asking price that ends in 999 — when you’re selling your home, you’ll do whatever you can to help it stand out and sell faster. Because the National Association of Realtors is predicting modest growth for the 2017 real estate market, as a seller you want every edge you can get. And on the heels of the popular Consumer Electronics Show in January, perhaps that edge is a smarter home.”Smart home features are designed to make homes more convenient, appealing, secure and energy-efficient — all of which are bonuses when you’re trying to sell a house,” says Geoff Lewis, president of RE/MAX, LLC. “Sellers who want to move their homes faster may benefit from adding smart features that make their properties more appealing to tech-minded buyers.”According to IHS Markit and CNBC, 80 million smart home devices were delivered worldwide last year. That’s a 64 percent increase from 2015.Here are six trending smart home features that might catch buyers’ attention and help sell your home faster:Keyless/remote entry door locks. Have you ever left the house and worried that you left the front door unlocked? If your home is equipped with a keyless/remote entry door lock — available from multiple manufacturers — you can use an app on your smartphone to lock the door from wherever you are. Some manufacturers make versions that will also send a text or email to your phone when the door opens. Locks that can be programmed with multiple entry codes also allow you to see who comes and goes and when.Smart lighting. From lighting automation that allows you to control lights remotely and wirelessly, to energy-efficient LED bulbs that can change color to match your mood and decor, lighting has come a long way. Some smart lights work in tandem with home automation systems to allow you to turn them on or off, or even dim them, from an app on a smartphone or tablet. Others require no communication hub and can be controlled directly from your mobile device. You can also put some smart bulbs on timers (using your wireless device), sync them with certain TV shows or movies, and integrate them with security cameras and thermostats.DIY security systems. Don’t want to sign a contract or deal with complex security systems? Install-it-yourself security systems are affordable and offer security features like cameras, sensors, motion detectors and alarms or sirens, without the need for a security service to monitor them.Smart appliances. The Internet of Things (IoT) — everyday objects that have network connectivity — includes a growing list of smart appliances. Many manufacturers are offering washers, dryers, refrigerators and other home appliances that can communicate with you — and each other — wirelessly. Many can be controlled remotely from your smartphone — so if you leave the house and can’t remember if you turned off the stove, you can check in and turn it off using your smartphone app.While appliances aren’t always included in a home sale, they do make for interesting features that keep your home top of mind to buyers.Smart plugs. One of the easiest, most affordable smart home upgrades you can make is to add smart plugs to your home. These Wi-Fi-enabled plugs fit existing outlets and can be controlled from a smartphone app. Plug anything into a smart plug, like lights or a television, and you can turn it on or off remotely, track energy consumption, or even create an on-off schedule.Temperature controls. Programmable thermostats were just the beginning; today’s home temperature controls are even smarter. Like other smart home features, smart thermostats can be controlled remotely from your mobile device. You can program them to make automatic temperature adjustments and then use your smartphone to override the program like turning up the heat on a particularly cold day. Some smart thermostats learn from household behavior and adjust the temperature to meet your family’s needs and save energy, while others adjust based on the number of people in a room. And several can now be operated via voice-controlled virtual assistants.”Many of these smart home features are surprisingly easy and affordable to install,” Lewis says. “Sellers who are open to the idea of investing a little money to possibly help get a speedier sale, may want to consider adding the smart features buyers will be looking for in 2017.”If you’re thinking of selling your home, find more helpful information at www.remax.com.
Target Open House – part retail space, part lab, part meeting venue for the connected home tech community – opens to the public in San Francisco’s Metreon shopping center. This 3,500 square-foot ode to IoT features a transparent, acrylic “house” complete with acrylic furniture and detailing that makes the house feel right at home among San Francisco’s “Painted Ladies.” But the house isn’t just for show. In its rooms, guests will experience vignettes that demonstrate in unprecedented ways how multiple connected devices can work together to create real-life solutions.
Researchers have developed a solar paint that can absorb water vapour and split it to generate hydrogen – the cleanest source of energy.
The paint contains a newly developed compound that acts like silica gel, which is used in sachets to absorb moisture and keep food, medicines and electronics fresh and dry.
But unlike silica gel, the new material, synthetic molybdenum-sulphide, also acts as a semi-conductor and catalyses the splitting of water atoms into hydrogen and oxygen.
RMIT lead researcher Dr Torben Daeneke said: “We found that mixing the compound with titanium oxide particles leads to a sunlight-absorbing paint that produces hydrogen fuel from solar energy and moist air.
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“Titanium oxide is the white pigment that is already commonly used in wall paint, meaning that the simple addition of the new material can convert a brick wall into energy harvesting and fuel production real estate.
“Our new development has a big range of advantages,” he said. “There’s no need for clean or filtered water to feed the system. Any place that has water vapour in the air, even remote areas far from water, can produce fuel.”
His colleague, Distinguished Professor Kourosh Kalantar-zadeh, said hydrogen was the cleanest source of energy and could be used in fuel cells as well as conventional combustion engines as an alternative to fossil fuels.
“This system can also be used in very dry but hot climates near oceans. The sea water is evaporated by the hot sunlight and the vapour can then be absorbed to produce fuel.
“This is an extraordinary concept – making fuel from the sun and water vapour in the air.”
The research has been published as “Surface Water Dependent Properties of Sulfur Rich Molybdenum Sulphides – Electrolyte Less Gas Phase Water Splitting” in ACS Nano, a journal of the American Chemical Society.
New To Market, Handheld 3D Imaging System For Your Smart Phone.
Vayyar Announces Walabot, a Handheld 3D Imaging System for Consumers, Developers and Curious Inventors Everywhere.
Available in April 2016 for Android devices, Walabot sees beyond the limits of human vision
TEL AVIV and SAN FRANCISCO, February 18, 2016 —
Vayyar Imaging (http://vayyar.com), the 3D-imaging sensor company whose technology makes it possible to see through objects, liquids and materials, announced today the launch of Walabot, a consumer version of its 3D imaging system. Walabot’s powerful sensor technology can look through walls to detect structural foundations, track a person’s location and vital signs as they move through a Smart Home, measure the speed of a fast-
moving ball, and help drones and cars avoid collisions. Available on Android devices in April 2016, Walabot’s programmable sensors open up a world of possibilities for curious inventors and developers everywhere.
“Walabot instantly turns a smartphone into a powerful 3D-imaging system at your fingertips. Our advanced technology lets people see all kinds of things hidden in the world around them, adding yet another dimension to the way people use smart devices today,” said Raviv Melamed, CEO and co-
founder, Vayyar Imaging. “Walabot makes highly sophisticated imaging technology approachable, affordable and usable for everyone. It can help the blind avoid obstacles, sense – and alert you – if your mother or father has fallen in the shower, help your robot become autonomous, and much more. We can’t wait to see what other kinds of applications makers and curious inventors around the world willcreate for Walabot.”
Walabot API
Walabot will be pre-installed with Vayyar-created apps at launch. Additionally, the Walabot API will also be made available to the public in April 2016, giving makers and inventors around the world the opportunity to develop content that takes advantage of Walabot’s truly unique 3D imaging sensor technology. Not only can Walabot users play with existing apps, but they can also create their own or access apps available within the Walabot community. Walabot’s technology is simple and intuitive, so people with any level of experience can use it to enjoy and better the world around them. Walabot will range in price from $149USD to $599USD.
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About Vayyar
Vayyar Imaging (http://vayyar.com) is changing the imaging and sensing market with its breakthrough 3D imaging technology. Vayyar’s exclusive sensors quickly and easily look into objects, analyze the makeup of materials & track changes and movements – bringing highly sophisticated imaging capabilities to your fingertips. Our goal is to help people worldwide improve their health, safety, and quality of life using mobile, low-cost, and safe 3D imaging sensors. Located in Israel, Vayyar Imaging is a privately held company backed by Walden Riverwood, Battery Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Israel Cleantech Ventures (ICV) and Amiti Ventures.
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@VayyarInc and @Walabot on Twitter, like us on Facebook, or learn more at http://vayyar.com.
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Media Contacts:
Amanda Taggart-Hughes Mindy M. Hull
Mercury Global Partners for Vayyar Mercury Global Partners for Vayyar
Draper combines navigation and neuromodulation to guide insects CAMBRIDGE, MA –
The smallest aerial drones mimic insects in many ways, but none can match the efficiency and maneuverability of the dragonfly. Now, engineers at Draper are creating a new kind of hybrid drone by combining miniaturized navigation, synthetic biology and neurotechnology to guide dragonfly insects. The system looks like a backpack for a dragonfly.DragonflEye, an internal research and development project at Draper, is already showing promise as a way to guide the flightpath of dragonflies. Potential applications of the technologies underpinning DragonflEye include guided pollination, payload delivery, reconnaissance and even precision medicine and diagnostics. “DragonflEye is a totally new kind of micro-aerial vehicle that’s smaller, lighter and stealthier than anything else that’s manmade,” said Jesse J. Wheeler, biomedical engineer at Draper and principal investigator on the program. “This system pushes the boundaries of energy harvesting, motion sensing, algorithms, miniaturization and optogenetics, all in a system small enough for an insect to wear.”DragonflEye has been a team effort between Draper and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) at Janelia Research Campus to create new optogenetic tools that send guidance commands from the backpack to special “steering” neurons inside the dragonfly nerve cord.Research at HHMI—led by Anthony Leonardo, Janelia Research Campus group leader—has led to a deeper understanding of “steering” neurons in the nervous system of the dragonfly that control flight. HHMI is applying techniques in synthetic biology to make these “steering” neurons sensitive to light by inserting genes similar to those naturally found in the eye. Draper is developing tiny optical structures, called optrodes, that can activate the special “steering” neurons with pulses of light piped into the nerve cord from the dragonfly’s backpack. Traditional optical fibers are too stiff to be wrapped around the tiny dragonfly nerve cord, so Draper developed innovative flexible optrodes that can bend light around sub-millimeter turns. These optrodes will enable precise and targeted neural activation without disrupting the thousands of nearby neurons. “Someday these same tools could advance medical treatments in humans, resulting in more effective therapies with fewer side effects,” said Wheeler. “Our flexible optrode technology provides a new solution to enable miniaturized diagnostics, safely access smaller neural targets and deliver higher precision therapies.”Draper’s work on the DragonflEye program builds on its legacy in autonomous systems, microsystems, biomedical solutions and materials engineering and microfabrication. This deep expertise extended previous Janelia Research Campus work in energy harvesting and miniaturization to create the insect-scale autonomous navigation and neuromodulation system. DragonflEye provides opportunities to put technology on some of nature’s most agile insects. For instance, honeybees, whose population has collapsed by half in the last 25 years, could be equipped with Draper’s technology to assist with pollination. One of nature’s greatest pollinators, honeybees contribute more than $15 billion to the value of U.S. agriculture every year. Draper’s tiny guidance system could help stem the loss of pollinators by monitoring their flight patterns, migration and overall health.
We hear all the time about how technology is bad for us. Since the introduction of computers. Even people working on App Development have the same issues, we spend more time sitting at a desk than moving around at work. We have created this sedentary lifestyle that is causing havoc in our overall life.
What if I were to tell you that technology has produced benefits? Would you believe me if I said that technology is good for your health?
Most of you wouldn’t look at first. Well, you may be able to think of a couple of ways that the computer has helped, but you are still stuck on all the negatives that ‘experts’ have shared in the past. The problem with the ‘experts’ is that they are only focused on the negatives. They haven’t looked at so many of the benefits.
So, that’s what we’ll do today. We’ll consider all the ways that technology improves our health. We’ll discuss just how it has boosted results in certain areas of healthcare and what it does for us daily.
Below you will find a digested timeline of Electrolux Design Lab Competitions.Established in 2003, Electrolux Design Lab is a global design competition open to undergraduate and graduate design students who are invited to present innovative ideas for future households. Each year Electrolux challenges design students all over the world. The challenge is to create a concept that is relevant to the time and raises questions about what design will be like in the future. In previous years, concepts have been requested for healthy eating, sustainable living, the internet generation and ever-shrinking city spaces for example. In response, young students have submitted designs such as Flatshare, a stackable refrigerator for roommates, Cocoon, a meat and fish maker, and Snail, a portable induction heating concept.
The brief for 2015 calls for innovative ideas for Healthy Happy Kids under three focus areas; Cooking, Fabric Care and Air Purifying.
Adrian Mankovecký from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design Bratislava in Slovakia is the winner of the Electrolux Design Lab 2011 competition. His Portable Spot Cleaner surpassed a field of 1,300 entries from over 50 countries.
A jury of award winning architects and designers selected the Electrolux Design Lab winner from eight finalists. The final took place at the Room Home Intelligence Conference London on September 7.
Portable Spot Cleaner
The Portable Spot Cleaner has two components. The user separates them, place on either side of the garment and choose the suitable cleaning program. Negative Ions and steam refresh clothing and remove stains. The cleaner is powered with a sugar crystal battery, and can be used practically anywhere in the world.
The jury was impressed by the Portable spot cleaner’s creative and insightful thinking. From the jury motivation: ”The Portable spot cleaner is built on a very solid consumer insight and it is highly relevant. It is an instant laundry device that has a positive impact on the environment by reducing consumption. Its usage and interaction are very intuitive. We all want one.”
Electrolux Design Lab 2010
Electrolux Design Lab 2010-Wins with “The Snail”
September 23, 2010
Peter Alwin from National Institute of Design in India is the winner of the Electrolux Design Lab 2010 competition for inventing The Snail, the Micro Induction Heating and cooking device.
Electrolux Design Lab 2009
Cocoon wins Electrolux Design Lab 2009
September 25, 2009
Rickard Hederstierna from Lund Institute of Technology in Sweden is the winner of the Electrolux Design Lab 2009 competition for inventing the Cocoon, the meat and fish maker. The winner was announced at finals in London on September 24, at 100% Design London, the UK’s leading architecture and design event.
“Cocoon” is a sustainable response to the world’s growing population and its desire to consume meat and fish. Similar to heating popcorn in a microwave, Cocoon prepares pre-packaged meat and fish dishes by heating muscle cells identified by radio frequency identification (RFID) signals. The signals detect the specific dish and then suggest the required cooking time. This process uses science to create food, lifting a burden on the planet by reducing the need for further intensive farming and fishing.
Electrolux Design Lab 2008
WINNERS!
Electrolux Design Lab 2007
Electrolux Design Lab 2007: Winner
Congratulations Levente Szabo, A Hungarian design student, who took home the top prize from the Electrolux Design lab 2007 competition with E-wash, a compact washing washing machine that uses soap nuts instead of detergent. The announcement happened in Paris, where all the finalists had gathered to compare and celebrate their designs.
Electrolux Design Lab 2006
healthy eating habits
November 27, 2006
Design students from around the world created inspiring household appliance solutions for food preservation and storage that promote healthier eating habits for 2016.
The first-place winner was “Nevale” (above on the left), a food carrier designed in layers to allow consumers to store and carry up to four hot/cold meals. Food is maintained through a vacuum system, so soup can be on the menu, and it can be programmed to launch an automated reheating system at a specific time.
Second place went to “Organic Cook” (center), an appliance that offers oil-free frying, grilling and boiling using infrared technology and vacuum cooking.
“Vessto” (right), the third-place winner, uses renewable energy as a power source through a version of a Stirling Engine. The concept uses heat from the stove to expand and contract small quantities of gas inside the appliance, which powers the product.
Fit-Snack-Joy (left) is a clever tabletop appliance that turns raw fruits and vegetables into cookies. It cleans, chops, bakes, seasons and molds fresh foods into fun, cookie-shaped snack, and even includes nutritional information on a variety of fruits and vegetables, so users can more easily find good combinations for healthy eating.
“Hydrosphere” (center) is a small hydroponic greenhouse for growing fresh herbs and salads. A grow lamp is positioned in the middle bottom of a clear glass globe, enabling herbs and small fruits to grow around it, and it’s all powered by a solar panel.
If the tabletop variety is too small, there’s “Vege” (right), an appliance that grows hydroponic vegetables in your kitchen, all year round, and it’s designed to hold up to 40 plants.
(ELUX) Electrolux today presented its third Design Lab Award to Airwash, a waterless washing unit. Students from leading schools of design in over 88 countries participated in the competition. Entries were received by more than 3,000 students in all continents, all competing to create the most outstanding new appliance concept for the home of 2020.
The winner, Airwash, is a waterless washing unit that utilizes negative ions, compressed air and deodorants to clean clothes. Its form is inspired by the waterfall, nature’s negative ion generator. Airwash eliminates the need for detergent and water. By using atmospheric air and negative ions – a natural cleansing agent – it fights dirt and bacteria with nature’s own weapon. It is designed to be placed anywhere in the home, not only in the laundry area. The simple user interface “floats” to wherever on the appliance the user wants.
Electrolux Design Lab 2004
Winning concept in Electrolux design competition was a waterless dishwasher that uses carbon dioxide as a cleaning agent.
Students from the University of New South Wales, Australia won the top prize for Appliance of the Future at the Electrolux Design Laboratory 2004 competition in New York.
The winning concept is the Rockpool dishwasher. It is a unique dishwasher that combines a highly sophisticated waterless cleaning technology with a simple user interface. Rockpool employs a cleaning process, which uses carbon dioxide in supercritical fluid form to dissolve grease and oils to remove particles. The carbon dioxide is returned to storage for reuse once the oils have been separated out into the waste management system. Water and chemicals are not used, thereby reducing strain on the environment.
Bill Gates has been almost prophetic in his past predictions: his 1999 list was hauntingly accurate, foreseeing the advent of price comparison websites, smartphones, social media, and bots. Over the last few years, in interviews and annual letters, he has continued predicting: here are a selection of seven of his insights.
1. IN THE NEXT 15 YEARS, 33 MILLION PEOPLE COULD BE WIPED OUT IN LESS THAN A YEAR BY A PATHOGEN.
2. AFRICA WILL BECOME ENTIRELY SELF-SUFFICIENT IN TERMS OF FOOD PRODUCTION.
3. THE LIVES OF THE POOR WILL BE TRANSFORMED BY MOBILE BANKING.
4. IN THE YEAR 2035, POOR COUNTRIES WILL NO LONGER EXIST.
5. BY 2030 THERE WILL BE A CLEAN ENERGY BREAKTHROUGH THAT WILL REVOLUTIONIZE OUR WORLD.
“I got back from eating lunch, saw [WannaCry] had started to hit the news… so I started looking into the malware, and I found this domain,” Hutchins said of a URL he found embedded in WannaCry’s code. He then registered the domain — a common practice when trying to track malware — and that unexpectedly triggered a shutdown of the WannaCry.
By the time that happened, the hack had already affected thousands of machines worldwide and compromised much of the U.K.’s health care system; WannaCry’s creators also released a variant without the kill switch. But Hutchins has been credited with preventing the malware from spreading to hundreds of thousands more machines.
The virus exploits vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Windows XP operating system that were originally used in NSA hacking tools leaked to the internet. Hackers were reportedly demanding $300 in bitcoin to decrypt data, a price that went up to $600 if they weren’t paid by the given deadline. Investigators haven’t yet found the culprits, but early clues point to a group of cybercriminals with ties to North Korea.
Initially, Hutchins said that he and his California-based employer, Kryptos Logic, “kept quiet” about the kill switch because they “didn’t want to jump the gun.” But word got out, and Hutchins unwittingly became something of a viral celebrity.
“I seem to be getting a little too much attention; I didn’t really want any of it,” Hutchins said. “I’ve got all these new followers and people trying to find me in person — it’s not great.”
Hutchins suggested ways people can protect themselves in the future — “It’s important to keep a system updated, have a firewall, have anti-virus installed” — because, he said, the return of another WannaCry-like attack is a certainty.
“I can’t really predict when it will happen. The last time I saw something like this it was probably 2008, so it’s been a while,” he says. “It will definitely happen again; we just don’t know when.”
6 easy, affordable smart home features that could help you sell your house faster…RE/MAX 17 February 2017 Fresh paint on the walls, professional staging and an asking price that ends in 999 — when you’re selling your home, you’ll do whatever you can to help it stand out and sell faster. Because the National Association of Realtors is predicting modest growth for the 2017 real estate market, as a seller you want every edge you can get. And on the heels of the popular Consumer Electronics Show in January, perhaps that edge is a smarter home.”Smart home features are designed to make homes more convenient, appealing, secure and energy-efficient — all of which are bonuses when you’re trying to sell a house,” says Geoff Lewis, president of RE/MAX, LLC. “Sellers who want to move their homes faster may benefit from adding smart features that make their properties more appealing to tech-minded buyers.”According to IHS Markit and CNBC, 80 million smart home devices were delivered worldwide last year. That’s a 64 percent increase from 2015.Here are six trending smart home features that might catch buyers’ attention and help sell your home faster:Keyless/remote entry door locks. Have you ever left the house and worried that you left the front door unlocked? If your home is equipped with a keyless/remote entry door lock — available from multiple manufacturers — you can use an app on your smartphone to lock the door from wherever you are. Some manufacturers make versions that will also send a text or email to your phone when the door opens. Locks that can be programmed with multiple entry codes also allow you to see who comes and goes and when.Smart lighting. From lighting automation that allows you to control lights remotely and wirelessly, to energy-efficient LED bulbs that can change color to match your mood and decor, lighting has come a long way. Some smart lights work in tandem with home automation systems to allow you to turn them on or off, or even dim them, from an app on a smartphone or tablet. Others require no communication hub and can be controlled directly from your mobile device. You can also put some smart bulbs on timers (using your wireless device), sync them with certain TV shows or movies, and integrate them with security cameras and thermostats.DIY security systems. Don’t want to sign a contract or deal with complex security systems? Install-it-yourself security systems are affordable and offer security features like cameras, sensors, motion detectors and alarms or sirens, without the need for a security service to monitor them.Smart appliances. The Internet of Things (IoT) — everyday objects that have network connectivity — includes a growing list of smart appliances. Many manufacturers are offering washers, dryers, refrigerators and other home appliances that can communicate with you — and each other — wirelessly. Many can be controlled remotely from your smartphone — so if you leave the house and can’t remember if you turned off the stove, you can check in and turn it off using your smartphone app.While appliances aren’t always included in a home sale, they do make for interesting features that keep your home top of mind to buyers.Smart plugs. One of the easiest, most affordable smart home upgrades you can make is to add smart plugs to your home. These Wi-Fi-enabled plugs fit existing outlets and can be controlled from a smartphone app. Plug anything into a smart plug, like lights or a television, and you can turn it on or off remotely, track energy consumption, or even create an on-off schedule.Temperature controls. Programmable thermostats were just the beginning; today’s home temperature controls are even smarter. Like other smart home features, smart thermostats can be controlled remotely from your mobile device. You can program them to make automatic temperature adjustments and then use your smartphone to override the program like turning up the heat on a particularly cold day. Some smart thermostats learn from household behavior and adjust the temperature to meet your family’s needs and save energy, while others adjust based on the number of people in a room. And several can now be operated via voice-controlled virtual assistants.”Many of these smart home features are surprisingly easy and affordable to install,” Lewis says. “Sellers who are open to the idea of investing a little money to possibly help get a speedier sale, may want to consider adding the smart features buyers will be looking for in 2017.”If you’re thinking of selling your home, find more helpful information at www.remax.com.
