Saturday, 1 June 2013

Techies 11

Evolution Robotics Mint Automatic Hard Floor Cleaner ...

The Mint Automatic Floor Cleaner from Evolution Robotics is designed exclusively for sweeping and mopping hard surface floors for you. Using dry and pre-moistened cleaning cloths, Mint picks up the dust, dirt and pet hair that constantly accumulate on floors. Mint’s compact design gets into tight spaces, under furniture and into other areas that are hard to reach with traditional mops and sweepers.

  Smart Lock 



The standard features you'd expect from such a system are all present. Your own phone can unlock the door, without your intervention if you'd like, for truly hands-free entry. And you can grant access to others remotely, using relatively fine-grained controls. You can give the plumber free rein to come and go for a whole day, or your dog walker only between the hours of three and four PM on weekdays. That should mean less spare physical keys your abode out in the wild. August will also keeps tabs on everyone's comings and goings and present them in an easy to browse log. And, since vacation rentals and Airbnb users will likely be among the earliest adopters, August is discussing the possibility of a virtual guest book for visitors to "sign."


When August ships for $199 later this year, it wont be a complete replacement like the Kevo. Instead it attaches to your existing deadbolt, replacing only the interior latch. That means you can use the smart lock in that overpriced studio you're renting and from the outside it won't look any different. Of course, inside you're looking at a conspicuous wheel made of aluminum with a textured edge and embedded LEDs that tell you when the door is locked, unlocked and when the batteries are running low. And with the creators claiming between six months and a year on standard AAAs, you probably wont see the latter message too often. The bad news is that, since August relies on Bluetooth 4.0, the list of supported devices is relatively short. You'll need to have an iPhone 4S or newer, a third-gen iPad or a "latest model Android device," though a spokesperson would not name any specific handsets. Make sure to check out the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EFlPncm4fnY

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