33 of the Best Internet of Things Gamechangers 2017 to Look out For

WE are well in the 21st century, no doubt. And the good thing about being alive in such a time is that the newly-discovered Internet of Things lifestyle is rapidly transforming lives with breakthroughs in the automobile industry, healthcare technology, Nanoarchitecture, social media advancements, virtual reality and smart wearables just to mention a few.

These innovations in technology are now embedded in the consumer, public and industrial sectors.

What would feel better for you? A security guard or knowing you can see anything that happens in your house and you can control it from your Smartphone?

Individual smart devices equipped with cloud security cameras and Wi-Fi thermostats are surpassing consolidated home automation systems that only perform basic monitoring thereby enabling you to control every smart device in your home from a single console.

Amazing isn’t it? Below are 33 of the most intuitive, well-thought-out IoT products that are causing waves in the tech industry.

Internet of Things Gamechangers 2016

1. Ring Video Doorbell

After the introduction of doorbells, it took quite a while before surveillance followed and you could see who is ringing your doorbell before you open it.

However, this process required you to walk to wherever the monitor and the button to open the door are located. With Ring Video Doorbell, you will be able to open your door from anywhere through your Smartphone.

It has an HD camera equipped with night vision enabling you to have a clear sight of your front door whether day or night.

Additionally, it has motion sensors that alert you of an approaching target even before they get to the doorbell.

With this technology, you can track anyone that goes into your house or open the door for someone without moving an inch.

2. ConnectSense Wireless Sensors

ConnectSense has enabled the creation of robust sensors that can help you monitor different aspects of your environment.

These sensors help you watch over your home, business and any other location important to you.

The sensors are battery powered and Wi-Fi-based with secure cloud-based communications that notify you the instant something in your location requires your attention.

Picture this, you had a long night and woke up late for work, the plumber did not come to fix your water and in your rush to leave for work, you leave the tap open.

ConnectSense is set up to text, tweet, call or email you. So you leave home and head for work, the instance water starts running you will receive a call or a text depending on how you set up your instructions.

A text like, ‘Hello Dave, water has been detected in your basement’ will help you figure out how to combat the leak before it is too late.

3. Lapka Pem

Imagine having the ability to collect measure and analyse hidden qualities in your surroundings.

Always knowing the humidity, temperature, altitude (in case you’re flying) and toxic gases just to mention a few.

Lapka Pem enables all that; the smart personal environment monitor is a product to look out for in 2016.

With globalization and industrialization still on the rise, this item will come in handy as you traverse different countries or continents and get to know of the changes in the environment as they happen, thank me later. Recently acquired by AirBnB, we expect more good things to come.

4. GlowCap

Imagine you are at work or busy running errands and have this dosage to clear that has strict regulations concerning time for full and proper recovery.

Missing a dose is not good for you, what’s worse, you cannot change the time of medication or change the dosage and take more tablets to counter missing a previous dose.

The GlowCap adherence tool uses escalating sounds, daily lights and interactive reminders to remind you to take your medication on time.

A mobile app on your phone can also help you research on all you need to know about the medicine you are taking as well as refill and manage prescriptions anywhere, anytime with the patient portal.

5. Kiwi Ki

Some smart locks have emerged in recent years but none of them is as ideal for an apartment building like the Kiwi Ki wireless entry system.

The reason it is so appealing is because it is very light and requires just proximity as opposed to contact.

A high level of encryption ensures no hacking can happen and can allow time-based access enabling you to give or deny access to your home from anywhere.

This product is ideal for apartments that require people such as genitors and mail carriers to get in and out at will.

You will surely love this product as it not only improves apartment security but is keeping up with technological advancements about locking systems around the world.

6. C2C or Car To Car Communication Technology

Just when you thought it could not get any better after cars could read your mood and drive you home, now they can talk to each other as well.

Don’t get too imaginative, I am not speaking in the sense of actual communication but relaying important messages while on the road.

This product will reduce accident rates exponentially, as soon as these smart cars hit the streets.

What awaits this venture becoming a reality is a law yet to be passed to ensure all new cars are fitted with this new technology.

With C2C, cars will be able to communicate with each other so as to establish proximity hence aiding in preventing collisions.

There are vehicles out there that have proximity sensors but that will only work for those models of cars.

However, if all cars are fitted with this technology, driving will be safer for everyone no matter what type of automobile they are driving.

7. Drift TV

There is one form of entertainment that most people cannot get enough of, the T.V.

Even with the emergence of large-sized tablets and laptops with the best resolutions, the T.V just keeps getting better and better.

There is a hazard that all medical and eye health professionals always stress out, blue light emission from your television.

This light affects not only your sleep and quality but mood as well. Come to think of it that explains a lot.

However, Drift TV, a product from Saffron enables you to reduce the blue light emitted from your television.

You can connect it via your TV’s HDMI port or another specified connector and enjoy better sleep and uninterrupted productivity.

8. Energy Aware Technology Neurio

In recent times, there are a whole lot of electrical appliances that have made way into our homes that aid both entertainment and work related activities.

With these devices becoming cheaper by the day, you never really know how many electrical appliances you have until you see your electricity consumption by the end of the month.

However, with Neurio, you can monitor each electrical device in your home and know the exact amount of power they use at any given period.

I feel this is one thing every man should have in their house. A Wi-Fi enabled sensor is implanted into your electrical panel by Neurio and identifies every electrical appliance by their power signatures. Pretty amazing isn’t it?

What sounds better than an application that can tell you the actual amount of electricity every electronic device in your home consumes accurately?

Like I said earlier, all men should have this one.

9. Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker

Now this one will get the ladies excited. Imagine you are late to cook dinner, you have prepared everything and your favorite show on television starts.

Alternatively, you can have some guests who require your attention but cannot join you in the kitchen and shouting is the only option left right?

Well, not when you have the Crock-Pot Smart Cooker. The cooker has inbuilt functions that enable you to cook directly from your Smartphone.

As long as the cooker and your phone are connected to the Internet via3G, 4G or Wi-Fi signals, you can turn the cooker on and change the temperature setting directly from your phone.

10. Brain Organoids

I am sure you can name some brain-related diseases that affect people and have no cure yet. These few include; Bipolar disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia.

Most persons with these diseases painfully await their demise while watching their families struggle with hospital bills and medication that only slows down the inevitable with no actual cure.

Well, not anymore, science has found a way to induce brain cells and they start working immediately.

Brain Organoids analyze aid in re-growing of brain cells as well as supported by technology that scans and analyses brain cells.

This is an important scientific breakthrough; let us hope it gets integrated into the healthcare system as fast as possible so that we can conquer some of these incurable diseases.

11. AdhereTech Smart Bottles

Earlier on, we discussed GlowCap, the meditation reminder. There is a better solution to taking medication on time rolled out by AdhereTech that makes automated phone calls to caregivers and listed patients if they miss their dose in real time.

The bottles are equipped with chimes and lights as well as wireless tracking so you can track your medication in case you misplace it.

If you have a tendency of forgetting to take your medicine, which almost everyone has, this product is the best you will have, in 2016 at least.

12. Zipato Smart Home Control

Up until now, most people have pictures of their homes in their minds or mobile phones. In the case of an emergency, you have to wait until someone notifies you.

Moreover, when you miss your home, you have to wait until you get there. Zipato Smart Home Control takes care of all that by not only aiding in security but enabling you to access any part of your compound wherever you are.

It is equipped with motion detection, energy metering, lights, fire, burglary, access control and vehicle detection just to mention a few.

13. Adrenaline dress

The fashion industry is buzzing with this technology from Intel designed to ape the fight-or-flight response of animals.

The adrenaline dress has a 3D-printed carbon fibre design shaped like butterfly wings on its back.

These wings contract and expand depending on the wearers’ body temperature, adrenaline and stress level.

14. Sphero

Every child’s life revolves around playing, learning, eating and sleeping.

Truthfully, parents spend a lot of money on toys and learning aid just to keep their children occupied.

Imagine a small ball that can play all those roles by itself, that ball is Sphero. This robotic ball from Orbotix features speed, spinning as well as color control.

It is controlled from your tablet or Smartphone and can be used as a pet, toy or learning aid.

15. OpenEnergyMonitor

Developed by Megni, the OpenEnergyMonitor is the office version of Neurio. This monitoring system enables you to not only track your energy use in the office but turn appliances on or off as well.

However, it is only compatible with Raspberry Pi and Arduino.

16. Internet Beaming Drones

I can bet you have been stuck in a place where there is no network coverage; you cannot make calls, send texts or connect to the Internet.

I relate to the feeling, a dead battery sounds far much better.

Well, Mark Zuckerberg will not stop in his quest to make sure everybody in the world is connected to Facebook, his plan to beam Internet connection to marginalized/unconnected village attests to it.

The Internet connection is beamed via laser by flying drones. You have to admit this is a pretty ingenious idea, more to follow in the course of the year.

17. SmartyPan

Have you ever tried out a new recipe and the food was the opposite of what you expected?

I know I have, the reasons behind the failed cooking operation are either overheating, improper mixing of the ingredients and time taken to cook the meal.

Worry no more, SmartyPan, the first ever pan to use Bluetooth gets rid of all these errors with its cutting edge technology.

SmartyPan helps you cook with the precise amount of ingredients while maintaining the exact duration and temperatures required to cook the meal.

Pancakes will now be real easy to make even for an amateur with SmartyPan.

18. Lucis Wireless Lamp

There are those moments in your life when you need an ambiance that reflects your mood to feel fully alive.

Such as a date, this would require the perfect color coordination to elicit a romantic atmosphere.

The Lucis Wireless Lamp is the ideal item to have in case it is a home date or you are meeting in a place where the lighting is just plain.

All you need to do it touch it to switch between its different colors until you find the one that matches your mood.

What’s even better, it is portable meaning you do not need to look up the best lit places on the Internet where you are, you can be your lighting coordinator.

19. August Smart Lock

Home lock systems have evolved from wooden planks to bolts to key and lock systems and lately smart locks.

However, nothing is as close to perfection as the August Smart Lock.

Operating primarily via Bluetooth, this system ensures that even in the event of little to no Internet connection or power shortage, you can still access your home.

Some smart locks have keys as alternatives but this one is totally keyless, additionally, you can cancel or extend digital keys whenever you need to.

The August Smart Lock also keeps track of your movement and will notify you instantly if someone else tries to access it.

20. Digitsole SmartShoe

From intelligent dresses, now we have intelligent footwear as well. The huddle about shoes is that you have to bend down and adjust your shoe laces every time.

Digitsole has combated that problem by coming up with a shoe that can not only automatically tighten itself around your foot but lace itself and warm your feet up to 100 degrees.

Admittedly, 100 degrees would be too much heat to have on your feet but it is good to at least know it can warm your feet right?

The sensors embedded in the shoe are controlled by a companion app that aids all those functions.

Personally, I will get this one just for the automatic fastening system.

21. Koubachi Plant Sensor

There is a good feeling that comes with having plants in the house or the home garden.

Whether it is flowers or groceries, it becomes quite upsetting when one day they look healthy and the next are dying and you can’t help it.

The Koubachi plant sensor works by placing it on the soil surface next to the plant then feeding it information about the plant via Wi-Fi.

The sensor then regularly gives information on soil moisture, temperature, and sunlight.

It also sends notifications reminding you to water the plant, weed it, move it or fertilize it.

22. Fogo

This product is specially designed for bikers, hikers or explorers.

To go for any of these, you will need a variety of items such as a flashlight, GPS, communication (walkie talkie) and maybe a charger for your phone just to mention a few.

Fogo has all these features plus an army knife and the ability to send an emergency beacon in case you are stranded.

The future of hiking will never be the same again with this product.

23. FishBit

Most people who have aquariums in their home experience the ultimate sense of bliss just by looking at the fish swim as the plants sway and the water bubbles.

However, maintaining that ecosystem is arguably the biggest challenge every fish tank owner has.

FishBit enables you to measure salinity, temperature and PH levels of the water as well as control all your other aquarium related electronics.

Aquariums will be revolutionized by FishBit in this year as most people will be able to keep track of their source of joy at home wherever they are and make necessary changes in real time.

24. BeClose/Alarm.com Wellness

Old age is a factor that every human being gets to handle.

How fast time flies, one day you are a toddler sucking your mother’s nipple the next you are an elderly person in need of the same care you got as a toddler.

To most seniors, it is apparent that you need that care, what sometimes proves hard is seeing your children juggle work and their daily routines to tend to you.

For a caregiver as well or a family member to an elderly person in need of constant care, this juggling can sometimes prove cumbersome.

Wellness will alert the enlisted family members to sleeplessness or changes in sleep patterns, erratic or unusual habits, wandering, sedentary lifestyles and night-time falls just to mention a few.

25. Momit Thermostats

When thermostats were introduced to replace older forms of temperature regulation, it was considered a landmark achievement.

However, almost all of them were manual and broke down quickly. Momit thermostats are the digitalized version of thermostats.

They use Wi-Fi so you can control the temperature levels in your house directly from your phone.

This one item is worth getting in 2016, choose from 6 different designs and be in control of your environment from your phone.

26. ORVIBO Wi-Fi Remote Control

Thank the heavens for this device.

We have all faced that moment when your favorite show is about to come up but you cannot find your remote, or you need to access a remote-controlled appliance in your home but cannot find its remote.

ORVIBO remote control to the rescue, this product links all your remote controlled devices to your iPhone so you don’t waste time looking for the remote.

Every man would love to have the ORVIBO Wi-Fi remote control in their home.

27. ORVIBO Wi-Fi Smart Socket

After finishing up using an electronic device, it is advisable to not only switch it off but turn off the socket too.

Imagine a socket that can turn off all your electronics remotely, you do not need to find the remotes or do so manually.

The smart socket has an app for Android and iOS that enable you to control any electronic device in your home from your phone or tablet.

This socket reduces time wasted plugging devices in and out of sockets as well as switching them on and off.

28. Webee

We have reviewed products that control various aspects of your home, now imagine one that can control all devices in your home from the comfort of your phone.

Such an item is Webee; all you have to do is connect as many devices as you wish, from lamps, surveillance cameras, doorbells, sockets, and thermostats.

With Webee, you will be able to control every device in your home remotely from your phone.

29. It Bed

Now this is interesting, a bed that gathers sleeping data such as heart rate, sleep status, movements and breathing has been unveiled.

Debuted by Sleep Number, the bed can also be connected to other devices such as the thermostat so as to alter temperature levels so as to suit sleeping patterns.

You can know how you sleep with this bed as it records all the data at an impressive a hundred times per second.

The bed comes in six sizes allowing you to not only track your sleep but that of your children as well.

30. Eight Sleep Smart Mattress

The It Bed may cover your sleeping patterns but the eight sleep smart mattress will cover your sleep.

Aside from monitoring your sleep, it acts as an electronic blanket that adjusts temperature between the sheets for better sleep.

Moreover, you can sync it to your Smartphone to ensure you are safe in your sleep.

It regulates the house temperature, locks windows, and doors and can make coffee for you in the morning if your smart coffee make is synched to it.

31. Mimo

Let’s take a short break with this quick riddle: Apart from a running stomach, what else has can keep you floating in between sleep and spontaneously waking up?

That’s right, a baby.

Now imagine it’s not even at night, it is a hot afternoon, you have been through with all your household chores and just want to sit on the porch or balcony and sip some cold juice.

The baby is asleep upstairs and it may be a while before you hear it cry. Moreover, you have to check on it to make sure it is sleeping in the correct position.

Additionally, discomforts such as a rise in temperature can disrupt the baby’s sleep and cut short your relaxing time as well.

Mimo is one IoT that uses sensor technology to inform you of your baby’s activity level, breathing, sleeping temperature as well as body position.

Additionally, it can tell you if your baby is asleep and send nightly reports of your child as they sleep to you and your caregiver.

With Mimo, you can do more around the house with an eye on your Smartphone, which in return is tracking your child’s every move.

32. Wireless Scale

When it comes to health issues, most are used to consulting their doctor for everything. However, there are some things you can manage such as monitoring your weight and blood pressure using the smart wireless scale.

The app linked to the weighing scale keeps data taken over time enabling you to keep track of your weight as well as set fitness goals.

33. Spiroscout

It is said that prevention is the best cure, but then again when it comes to diseases steered by the environment, it is hard to prevent them and such is the case with Asthma patients.

All you have to do is attach this small device to your inhaler and every time you use it in the event of an impending attack or when it happens, the information is uploaded to Asthmapolis servers.

The data collected enables you and your doctor to know exactly where and when you experience asthma attacks. Additionally, it can send a text alert to your phone to remind you in case you forget it.

Internet of Things Q & A

1. How hard is it to operate these applications?

Setting up most of these applications is real easy and anybody can do it. However, some such as the Neurio require at least an electrician around to aid in proper connection.

2. Have all the above been tested?

Yes, they all have been tested and vetted.

Some of them, like the car to car communication technology, are still awaiting a go-ahead from the government to roll fully out as entire projects but they are ready.

3. How can I purchase any of the above?

Apart from being sold at major outlets especially in the cities and famous tech shops, you can get them online via their respective company websites.

To get to their website just search the item online and open the page with the company name as its domain.

4. How safe are these products?

Totally safe, there has been no incident reported yet of a malfunction for any of the items listed above.

However, it is wise to stay updated with any updates made to the item via their mobile portal, which has all the information on the product.

5. Are they expensive?

Prices vary depending on location and if delivery is included.

However, since most of them are just hitting the market, expect a fair price before the competition catches up and the prices soar. My best advice is to get it while it’s hot.

Conclusion