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The rise of the "Internet of Things" promises to connect us wirelessly to all the gadgets around us, making our lives easier. That includes some surprising devices that are now networked.
By Rachel Rosmarin
\nUsers also can trust Pintofeed to know when their pet wants to eat based on when they\'ve eaten in the past. The device will come up with a feeding schedule and notify you via text, email, Facebook, or Twitter when each meal has been served. Pintofeed is heading into production now; you can reserve one for $129.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/wz/networked-devices-02-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/f2/networked-devices-02-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide3", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-3", slidetype: "image", title: "Weather Cube", description: "A glance at your phone\'s weather app will reveal tomorrow\'s temperature. But it won\'t let you feel it. The thermoelectric element inside this Wi-Fi-connected metal cube can take it down to 0 degrees Fahrenheit or up to 100. Touching the temperature you\'ll be feeling tomorrow on the Cryoscope makes it real?you\'ll know for certain whether you need to take a sweater.", credit: "Robb Godshaw", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/fw/networked-devices-03-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/lg/networked-devices-03-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide4", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-4", slidetype: "image", title: "Doorbell", description: "In the Harry Potter books, Mrs. Weasley owns a clock that tells her where her family members are. MIT Media Lab\'s Tangible Media Group envisions something similar: A doorbell that chimes a different sound when each member of the household is nearing home. It pulls data from each family member\'s Google Latitude account, a location-based mobile app that relies on Google Maps for GPS and cell-tower triangulation data. The doorbell alert means you won\'t have to stop cooking dinner when you want an update on your kids\' commute.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/0D/networked-devices-04-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/tn/networked-devices-04-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide5", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-5", slidetype: "video", title: "Mirror", description: "Flat-panel displays are everywhere?even screens at gas stations and in elevators tell us the weather and the news. But this one by Cybertecture is also a Wi-Fi-connected mirror. Put it in the bathroom and it will relay health data, let you browse social networks, watch video, and even check your form while exercising. The mirror gleans health data from an optional peripheral: a sensor pad that functions as a scale that calculates body fat, muscle mass, and bone mass, in addition to weight.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/SW/networked-devices-05-0413-smn.jpg", videotype: "embedded" }, { id: "slide6", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-6", slidetype: "video", title: "Piano", description: "\"Play it, @StanleyPiano. Play \'As Time Goes By.\'\"\n
\nSeattle agency Digital Kitchen created a player piano that receives tweets of song titles. It then takes MIDI files of those songs and turns them, via a USB interface, into ivory-tickled keynotes using a hardware controller. There\'s no satisfaction quite like commanding an old-school analog instrument to strike up a tune via your smartphone.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/F6/networked-devices-06-0413-smn.jpg", videotype: "embedded" }, { id: "slide7", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-7", slidetype: "image", title: "Lightbulb", description: "Another Kickstarter success story, the energy-efficient Lifx bulb (available for preorder at $69 apiece) screws into existing sockets and is controlled via Wi-Fi on an iOS or Android app. You can tell it (or them, if you install multiple bulbs) to turn on and off at different times, dim and brighten slowly, change colors, flash in patterns, and more. The manufacturer also promises \"robot dancing.\" While the prospect of an Internet-enabled living-room rave sounds fun, the lazy comfort of dimming the lights from the couch or turning on the light in the basement before heading down the steps is even more appealing.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/kr/networked-devices-07-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/0m/networked-devices-07-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide8", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-8", slidetype: "image", title: "Environmental Sensors", description: "In Star Trek, the Tricorder is the ultimate environmental sensor and data-analysis device. Curious earthbound types who\'ve wished for one may soon be able to play-act with the Sensordrone, a gadget with built-in sensors that sends data directly to smartphones in real time. The phones can then relay data to the Web via tweets and other social media. This is the Swiss Army Knife of data gathering.\n
\nSensors include temperature, humidity, light, IR barometer, blood alcohol level, carbon monoxide, and gas. Blood-pressure monitors are expected soon, but no word on whether a radiation detector is in the works. You can set your smartphone to automatically tweet data gathered from the sensors.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/nq/networked-devices-08-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/Hn/networked-devices-08-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide9", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-9", slidetype: "image", title: "Gardening Assistant", description: "Attention hydroponic gardeners: Not sure about optimum light, water, and temperature levels for your plants? Sensors placed in your planters can measure water, temperature, humidity, brightness, pH, and nutrient concentration, and can help to yield a better crop. Bitponics\' gear, currently in development, takes measurements from the air and soil and uploads them automatically to a Web interface for analysis, helping to turn your black thumb to green.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/9D/networked-devices-09-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/TX/networked-devices-09-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide10", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-10", slidetype: "image", title: "Paper-Craft Toys", description: "ReaDIYmates are pattern kits for paper-craft toys (monsters and sculptures). Each one comes with a paper body, a built-in motor and speaker, and a tiny processor with some flash memory and a Wi-Fi radio. Thanks to this hardware, you can turn these bits of paper and wire into amiable creatures by using your creative touch.\n
\nWith simple Web commands, for example, teach them to dance using your iPhone\'s accelerometer, tweet, or send voice memos. Have them holler and shimmy when someone likes your latest Facebook post. Or use these highly personalized toys to entertain someone, even from a Web browser half a world away.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/SI/networked-devices-10-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/f7/networked-devices-10-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide11", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-11", slidetype: "image", title: "Music Box", description: "Miss the tactile feel of mix tapes, but don\'t want to store your music on flimsy disposable media? The Spotify box, a prototype built by designer Jordi Parra, appeals to nostalgic types who\'ve lamented the Internet-only aspect of modern music consumption but don\'t want to eschew the endless variety available online. Tiny RFID tokens link directly to Spotify music playlists or artist tags that play when you place them on the Web-connected box.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/d5/networked-devices-11-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/A0/networked-devices-11-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 }, { id: "slide12", url: "12-devices-you-didnt-know-were-web-connected-12", slidetype: "image", title: "Lamps", description: "The Good Night Lamp is a beautifully designed light fixture shaped like a house. It comes with a larger and smaller version of the same design. Turning on the big lamp at your home also turns on the little one, which might be in your daughter\'s dorm room. The two users decide what on and off mean; turning the light off could mean \"I\'m asleep,\" or turning it on could mean \"I have time to talk on the phone now.\"\n
\nSure, people could send these messages by text. But the Good Night Lamp\'s designers think of it as a way to feel the presence of someone located far away. The lamp failed to meet its Kickstarter goals, but its creators still plan to move forward with the project.", credit: "", sourceid: null, sourcename: "", sourceurl: null, sourcelogo: "", thumbsrc: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/sV/networked-devices-12-0413-smn.jpg", src: "/cm/popularmechanics/images/R0/networked-devices-12-0413-lgn.jpg", srcwidth: 600, srcheight: 450 } ] };
Air Quality Egg
Air-quality levels monitored and reported by the government don't take into account the conditions right outside your doorstep. If you knew that nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide levels in your neighborhood or near your child's school were especially high on any given day, you might choose to keep young lungs inside.The Air Quality Egg gives you exactly this information. Sensors measure air quality outside your front door, and then an RF transmitter sends the data to an egg-shaped base station in your house. The Egg, which turns different colors to alert you to changes in the air quality, sends the data on to a service that graphs it for the public.
The collective information from Eggs around the world could ultimately help researchers studying the environmental causes for a variety of diseases, such as heart and lung disease.
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