Here we have some of the worst technology ideas that are so funny and not necessarily required. Bottles with touch screen and WiFi? A pregnancy test with Bluetooth? It may sound strange, but they are just examples of how you sometimes take an object that has been around for a long time and make its “smart” variant by simply putting technology into it when you don’t need it.
The worst thing is that they are not the only ones: next we will give a tour of 39 things that, for some strange reason, have added technology, which want to present themselves as a good sample of innovation, but many times they end in absurd ideas, little practices and that in the end nobody uses.
The bad technology ideas that does not need it
The dog collar that sends tweets
Someone thought it would be a good idea for a dog to have his profile on Twitter and send his own tweets by barking, this thanks to a device that hangs from the dog’s collar, which is synchronized via WiFi with our computer, to that every time our friend barks or makes a sound, the device will translate them into one of its 500 preloaded phrases.
Puppy Tweets of course requires the intervention of a human for all the configuration, yes, you will also need to open the Twitter profile.
A headband… quantifying
Personal quantification sometimes seems to get out of hand, technology companies sell us the idea that we need to know absolutely everything about our physical activity, but now we go one step further. Brainbit is a headband that offers to quantify our mental health, thanks to four electrodes and two sensors that monitor brain activity, in order to know our emotional state at all times.
Of course, its operation is based on connecting via Bluetooth to our smartphone to transmit the information collected. Its creators are waiting for medical certifications that endorse the results obtained by this headband.
A tampon that lets you know when it’s time to change it
Of course, there will be women who want to know at all times what the status of their tampon is, and for her comes my.Flow, a tampon that connects through the thread to a small sensor, which has Bluetooth connectivity to link with an application mobile on our smartphone, from where you can check the status of absorption, as well as receive notifications and check the history of the period.
The oven with WiFi
If what we are looking for is to equip our house with pure devices that can be controlled through our smartphone, here is another option. In addition to the refrigerator, Samsung also has an oven with WiFi connection, so that we can control the temperature and enable functions from anywhere in our house, of course, all with the power of our smartphone and a mobile application.
The washing machine that buys its own detergent
Continuing with the appliances, Whirlpool has a washing machine and a dishwasher equipped with WiFi and Amazon’s Dash system, which allows to keep a count of the washing cycles to determine when it is time to place a new order of detergent, something that it does it automatically without user intervention. And although it sounds incredible, it does not require the use of our smartphone.
Pans want to be smart too
The fashion for putting connections reached the pans, since there are several bets that offer from WiFi connection, Bluetooth, as well as sensors that measure temperature, weight and humidity, which allows to have a strict control of what we are cooking, Since all the information is sent to our smartphone, where we will also receive alerts and tips to be all ‘smart chefs’.
The multifunctional fridge
With the arrival of crowdfunding platforms we have had an explosion of ideas without limits, where some have become surprises that have gone around the world. Such is the case with the Coolest Cooler, one of Kickstarter’s most successful projects, raising more than $ 10 million in funding.
It is a refrigerator equipped with everything you need for the picnic, from a wireless speaker via Bluetooth, USB ports to charge devices, an LED light inside, its own blender, a compartment to store plates and cutlery and even a bottle opener. The bad news is that despite having raised more than ten million dollars, there are still people who have not received it.
The bottle with touch screen and WiFi
If you have $200 and want to invest in a bottle capable of giving information about the wine that is inside, then Kuvee is for you. It is a bottle equipped with a system that allows it to have a touch screen and a WiFi connection, but inside we have a metal bottle with the wine, which has been highly questioned since it is not the most recommended method to preserve it.
This bottle, which is more of a bottle-shaped container, allows us to request new bottles, consult information about the wine, the ideal temperature to preserve it, as well as being able to surf the internet.
The bra that quantifies
The OM Bra was a sports bra capable of monitoring exercise routines and physical activit, an idea that might not sound so bad, but when we see that the quantifying device is attached to the bra and it is necessary to remove it when it is put in the washing machine, then no longer It seems like such a good idea, because everything that this device offers is available in a wide variety of bracelets. The website of the company that came it does not seem to be operational.
The “olfactory” alarm clock
Imagine that every morning instead of waking up with a chaotic ringing we could do it with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee, it sounds interesting right? Well that’s the idea behind Sensorwake, an alarm clock that uses a kind of cartridges equipped with essences ranging from grass, sea, coffee, toast, mint, chocolate or a croissant.
Every morning, the watch begins to emit the essence gradually for two minutes. Each cartridge has a duration of 30 “awakenings” and according to its creators, the cartridges are recyclable, but they do not mention how. This alarm clock is priced at $99, and of course the cartridges are sold separately in a pack of two for $11.
The sneakers connected… to our smartphone
Digitsole’s “smart” shoes, in addition to having a futuristic look, were equipped with technology that allowed them to tie themselves to quantify all our activity. They even say that they are able to determine our weight, height and age, all thanks to its Bluetooth connection that is synchronized with a mobile application on our smartphone.
In addition to this, the shoes have light, because it is dangerous to train at night, in addition to its own battery that is recharged through a wireless system, which has an autonomy that goes from one to seven days depending on the activity. However, they no longer appear to be available on the manufacturer’s website.
“Smart” belts
This wearables thing is getting out of hand, and the so-called “smart” belts are an undoubted proof. During 2015, two projects appeared that sought to enhance the functions of a simple belt, the first of which came from Samsung, who showed a prototype that was capable of monitoring our waist size and physical activity, in order to control our eating habits.
On the other hand, Belty also appeared, a more advanced proposal with vibrations to alert us to a notification on our smartphone, activity quantifying sensors, but the most “curious” part is that it is self-adjusting it loosens when we sit down and turns adjust when we are standing, something that also serves to determine when we have eaten more, something that warns us through vibrations.
The chair that exercises us while sitting
It might seem like a joke, but there is a prototype of a chair that has “an integrated gym”, or well, that’s what its creator said, since the Tao Chair has sensors and mechanisms that help tone the muscles, all while we are watching television or reading a book. Coincidentally, the product website does not load.
As you may have imagined, the chair was connected to our smartphone and through an application we could activate “exercises” and monitor our “routine”, burning calories and time invested in this, which we really don’t know what to call.
The overpriced cooler with bluetooth speakers
Yes, it can be comfortable to have a fridge with speakers, especially when they are 125dB and are perfectly integrated into the design, they connect to our smartphone or computer via Bluetooth, and keep beers cold. But when we see that its price is 1100 dollars it is when we wonder if there really is someone capable of paying such an amount of money for something like that.
The infidelity proof mattress
Someone had the great idea of creating a mattress full of sensors, where its creators say that through an algorithm, it is able to determine when there is sexual activity on it, it connects to a smartphone through an application and from there we sends notifications, plus we can see the movement, intensity and usage history.
The cat box that cleans itself
CatGenie is the result of adding technology to a cat box, which uses a plastic material that simulates sand, and where, thanks to an integrated washing system, it is automatically cleaned, dried and eliminated odors. It may sound good, but the reality is that we need the “special sand”, in addition to the cleaning cartridges, which brings us an annual investment of approximately 300 euros, this not counting that the box has a price of 250 dollars, without the consumables.
Bluetooth breast pump
Surely there are mothers who keep a punctual record of each milk expression session, there are those who do it manually in a notebook, or else, they store everything in their memory. But then the Naya company arrived, which launched an extractor that helps in this work, or well, that’s what they said, because now the web is not active.
As you may have guessed, this extractor had a Bluetooth connection to link with our smartphone and a mobile application that kept track of each session, with data such as duration, date and time. Of course, the amount of milk still had to be entered manually in the app if we wanted to have all the information stored.
The umbrella that is a weather station and even a selfie stick
We all want to know if it will rain throughout the day so that we are not mindlessly carrying an umbrella. This is what Oombrella supposedly offered, an umbrella that integrated sensors that collect weather information in various regions of the world where it was being used, thus creating a large community that constantly sent information to Wezzoo, a meteorological social network, which in turn He sent alerts to our smartphone to let us know that it will rain and let’s not forget to go out without this umbrella.
In addition, it had Bluetooth to be connected at all times to our smartphone and warn when we had forgotten it; And if that were not enough, various accessories can be adapted to the tip of the umbrella, such as a smartphone holder to have a nice umbrella with a selfie stick function. The product website is no longer active.
The connected pot
Crock Pot is a company that manufactures pots equipped with WiFi and Bluetooth, this with the idea that they can be operated remotely from a smartphone to be able to adjust the temperature and cooking time, something that we can do from home., and even on the street through a mobile connection, since we will have access to a mobile application that will allow us to control all this.
The clip that alerts you when the clothes have dried
Someone had the great idea to create a clothespin full of sensors, come on, because according to its creators, we should spend more time doing other more important things instead of waiting for the clothes to dry. Peggy is a “smart” clip that connects to the smartphone through a mobile application, where we will receive notifications when it is about to rain, it is a good time to hang up clothes, and even when the washing machine has finished washing and the clothes are ready to be hung, well, we have to enter the latter manually.
This clamp has WiFi and humidity, temperature and lighting sensors, it has a rechargeable battery via micro USB that offers us an autonomy of up to 5 days in continuous use, so we will have to reserve one more plug at home, since now we will have to carry even the clothespins.
A pregnancy test with Bluetooth
It might seem like a joke, but no, the first pregnancy test connected to a smartphone is real and is priced at $20. This test offers us to use the three long minutes of waiting for the results in something else, since when it is ready, the result will be sent to our smartphone. Yes really.
On the other hand, if we want those three minutes to pass quickly, the First Response application includes fun ways to pass the time, ranging from calming videos with ocean waves, breathing exercises, educational information about fertility to kitten videos and cooking tips. A true wonder.
The loudspeaker buffer for vaginas
The world of new pediatric gadgets should be a subject of study, because now we find Babypod, which arises under the justification that babies in the womb are stimulable with music. Therefore, someone had the great idea of creating a loudspeaker that is inserted into the vagina to create a whole concert for the baby about to be born.
The bottle that tells us how much water you have left
Hidrate Spark is a bottle that is synchronized via Bluetooth with our smartphone, so that through a mobile application we can track the amount of water we have drunk throughout the day, week, month or year. All this is shown with beautiful statistics and graphics, which we can share with the community via social networks, because come on, who would not like to share that they drank 2 liters of water from an application.
But the funniest thing is that the bottle will send us alerts when the water is about to run out and we need to refill it (as if we could not see the bottle), in addition to that if we are not sure how much water we have left, we can always draw our smartphone, open the app and go to the “available water” section. Anyway.
The toilet with WiFi, speakers and personal assistant
For those who feel alone during that very personal moment of reflection, the Kohler Numi has arrived, a high-end toilet with an internet connection and support for Apple’s Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri. Because using the toilet manually is such a primitive thing, now we can ask our favorite assistant to lift the lid, lower the seat, flush, or even set the bidet jet for our comfort.
As if that weren’t enough, this nice toilet has a stereo speaker system for listening to music during that moment of concentration. For those interested, the Kohler Numi will go on sale during the last quarter of 2018 at a price of $5,625.
A “smart” brush designed by Nokia and Kérastase
The Hair Coach was born from one of those projects that no one would imagine, which brings us an idea from Kérastase, the famous luxury brand focused on hair care, and Nokia through its Withings health division. This brush, which will cost $200 and will go on sale later this year, has sensors that will do a “hair analysis”, as well as a “hair trainer” that will teach us how to brush our hair.
Yes the world needed a connected egg tray
It would seem like a joke, but the Quirky Egg Minder is a project where GE collaborates, whose objective is solely and exclusively to notify us when the eggs are about to reach their expiration date, or are about to run out. Sure, because it is more difficult to see the tray.
It is a plastic tray with a WiFi connection that is synchronized with an application on our smartphone, which is where we will receive notifications when it is time to buy more eggs. Its price is 10 dollars.
Always pure water, dependent on WiFi
The Brita infinity Smart is a water jug with WiFi connection, which purifies the water through a filter that, according to the manufacturer, reduces the taste and smell of chlorine, copper, mercury and cadmium impurities.
The magic of this jug is in its WiFi connection and direct link with Amazon’s Dash service, since when the jug detects that the filter is no longer working properly, it will order a new one so that it will always have fresh and purified water.
And the baby changing and quantifying pad arrived
Yes, another quantifying product. In this case it is a pad or pad that is used to change the baby’s diaper, but “smart”. It is called Hatch Baby Smart Changing Pad and inside it is full of sensors that will help us know from weight, to the amount of changes we carry, as well as food intake.
Obviously, being a “Smart” product, we could not put aside the smartphone, since this changer must be synchronized with a mobile application that will give us access to all the information collected. Its price is $250.
Toothbrushes with 10 megapixel camera
“Smart” toothbrushes are nothing new, so they had to reinvent themselves and offer new functions. Such is the case of the Onvi Prophix, a brush (very rare) that connects to our smartphone (obviously) and through an application shows us photos and videos of the inside of our mouth.
It has a 10 megapixel camera and its price is “only” 400 dollars.
A floss dispenser… that does not include floss
Well, that is a dental floss dispenser with a nice LED light. Its name is Flosstime and the idea is to stick it to the mirror so that we always remember to use thread. To use it we will have to give it a little touch so that it gives us 45 centimeters of ready-to-use thread.
The bad news is that it does not include the thread, we will have to buy it separately and load it into the dispenser. Its price is 30 dollars.
The “smart” fork that will “help” us lose weight
A fork that vibrates when we are eating too fast. In addition, it has Bluetooth to connect it to our smartphone and through an application we keep a record of our meals, calories and time invested in each food.
This wonder was called HapiFork and was priced at $ 79, down from the $ 99 it originally cost. It’s no longer available.
An oven with a camera and, of course, connected to our smartphone
June is a “smart” oven made by ex-Apple engineers, which uses cameras inside and artificial intelligence to recognize what food is stored inside and cook it automatically, or at least that’s what its creators promise.
This oven is priced at nearly $ 1,500.
Cook cookies the “smart” way using WiFi and your smartphone
CHiP is a kind of oven to cook “smart” cookies, it has a WiFi connection and sends us notifications to our smartphone to inform us that our cookies are ready. The detail is that we can only use the cookie mix compatible with CHiP, which is made exclusively for this oven and which by the way, has “smart packaging”.
CHiP was a project that sought funding on Kickstarter and managed to reach its goal for a price of $129.
A salt shaker that “knows” the exact amount our food needs
It’s called SMALT and it’s an automatic salt dispenser that, you guessed it, connects to our smartphone to serve the exact amount of salt to our dishes. They even claim that it is able to keep track of our daily salt intake.
But it is not only a dispenser, it is also a Bluetooth speaker, it has ambient light that adapts to the environment and situation and is even compatible with Alexa.
Someone wanted to reinvent the piggy bank and made it something much more complicated
The “smart” piggy bank has arrived. It’s called Porkfolio and has GE behind its development. This piggy bank will not only serve to save and save our money, but also to keep track of what we have saved, via a mobile app of course, which generates savings graphs and we can even set financial goals.
Porkfolio has an accelerometer, and every time someone moves it or changes place we will receive an alert on our smartphone to inform us that we could have been stolen.
A device that makes your trash can “smart” and makes the shopping list
Why have a garbage can that only serves to throw garbage if you can have one that makes your shopping list in the process. This is what GeniCan promises, a device that is placed on the edge of our bucket and serves to scan the products we throw away , which serves to create a new shopping list. What happens if what we throw away does not have a barcode? Well, this device is also voice activated and we can tell you what to add to the list.
Obviously it connects to our smartphone, which is where it adds the products.
The connected rubber ducky
Its creators say that it is the first ‘Smart Duck’ in the world, and well… His name is Edwin and he is a duckling with WiFi and Bluetooth connection that offers interactive games either on a tablet or smartphone. It also doubles as a wireless speaker and even features color-changing light. Ah! And it is also waterproof.
The shower head with Alexa
From the hand of Kohler comes the Moxie Showerhead, a shower head that not only sprays water on our heads, but also has a speaker connected to Alexa. Basically, it is a smart shower head that we can ask to play music for us, buy a product on Amazon, or tell us the weather on the street. Why? Why not. Its price is $ 229.
The diaper that alerts you when your baby poops
Babies generally have a natural alert system that alerts parents when they poop: the smell. However, Goodmonit had the idea to create a sensor that automatically detects when the diaper is fuller than expected and sends a notification to parents to change it. “No more olfactory tests!” They say on the manufacturer’s website.
iSmell, the Internet sniffing device
In the golden age of the Internet, with the dot-com bubble, it occurred to someone that we smell the Internet. If we could see and hear, why not smell too. This is how iSmell was born, a device that promised to generate thousands of different fragrances to simulate the smell of a product that we see online. It was not like that, it was an absolute failure both due to the poor quality of the product and the bad idea itself.
Juicero, squeezing fruits and pockets
The company lasted 16 months before closing. Juicero is a recent failure of the technological age, where the product is a fruit juicer. Its high price for what was ultimately mere prey caused it to have a horrible reputation. Likewise, inside it was necessary to place bags with pre-cut fruits and sold by the brand. One of the most unnecessary kitchen products in recent years.
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