What the Tech? Gadget Gifts: Robots for the Home
If you’re old enough to remember “The Jetsons”, you probably realize we’re leaving in a Jetsons era (except for the space-cars). Remember Rosie? The Jetson’s housekeeping robot?
This Christmas lots of people are adding robots to their own homes.
Robot vacuum cleaners have been popular for years but they’ve been priced too high for most people to buy one. Prices are coming down and the brand new Eufy G30 Edge is a good example of affordable robot vacuums. What should you look for when buying a robot vacuum?
Let’s use the Eufy as another example.
You want suction and the Eufy is rated at 2000Pu, a rating of suction pressure. 2000Pu is pretty good for a vacuum at this price (currently $240). Some high-end robot vacuums such as the iRobot or Roomba i7+ has a rating of 7500Pu and is currently $600 on sale ($400 off during Cyber Monday sales). 2000Pu is strong enough to suck up pet hair, crumbs, and most other things that fall to the floor.
The Eufy G30 Edge has many of the features you want to look for when deciding on a robot vacuum. It adjusts to the floor it’s vacuuming and can switch from cleaning hardwood to carpet to tile. You want a vacuum that can sense a set of stairs and stop before falling down a flight.
Unlike some other robot vacuums, the Eufy does not cover the house at random, changing directions every time it bumps into something. The Eufy rolls along in a pattern in an effort to cover the entire floor without missing a spot.
You also want a vacuum that can be controlled with an app. The Eufy can be started, stopped, located, and scheduled using the Eufy Home app. It can also be controlled by smart assistants Alexa and Google Assistant.
Since someone or something else is doing the house cleaning, a robot bartender may be just what you want to kick up your feet and relax.
The Bartesian Custom Cocktail Maker uses flavor pods and your favorite spirits to mix cocktails from Margaritas to Mojitos to an Old Fashioned. You simply fill bottles with your favorite alcohol, add some water to a reservoir and then place a flavor pod in the Bartesian.
The pods are all labeled with their own barcode which is then read by the robot bartender. The barcode tells the Bartesian which alcohol bottle to draw from. There are places for bottles of Whiskey, Gin and Rum, Tequila, and Vodka. All you have to do is enter how strong you want your cocktail or if you prefer a mocktail with no alcohol.
The Bartesian mixes the drink perfectly every time.
There is a similar product on the market from Keurig called “Drinkworks”. The key difference between the two cocktail makers is that the pods for Drinkworks contain alcohol where the Bartesian pods only contain bitters, citrus, simple syrup, and other flavor ingredients. Since you cannot purchase alcohol online from retailers such as Amazon, Target, and Best Buy, you need
to visit a liquor store to buy Drinkworks pods.
Bartesian cocktail pods can be purchased online at most major retailer websites.
