If this year’s CES was anything to go by the smart bathroom is the next frontier of the smart home. The annual tech expo featured a host of smart products geared towards improving the bathroom experience.
Considering bathrooms are becoming a bit of a theme, we thought we’d compile the latest gadgets from CES along with features already available to reveal what the smart bathroom of the near future could offer you.
Smart bathroom fixtures and fittings
Toilets you can talk to and mirrors that act as a personal health hub were among the big reveals of CES 2018, with a host of tech co’s weighing into the bathroom space.
CNET notes among the selection of mirrors was a concept option by Philips that’s designed to also act as a personal health hub.
“In the future, this mirror would connect to other Wi-Fi-enabled Philips products such as scales, toothbrushes and shavers to keep up with your biometrics right on the screen,” they explain.
Meanwhile, Kohler increased its range of bathroom products that are designed to ‘konnect’. The line includes a shower, a bathtub, two toilets, and a mirror, Tech Crunch explains.
The mirror is voice activated, featuring all the skills of Alexa, while also offering inbuilt lighting that responds to voice command. Effectively it means your mirror can relay the daily news and read your schedule all while altering the lighting to suit.
Individual shower preferences are also catered to via the range which features lighting, water, steam and sound that can be activated via a single voice prompt like ‘Start my morning shower’.
Meanwhile, technology for the bathtub allows users to set their intended temperature and simply tell the bathtub to fill with water.
Tech Crunch continues, in the smart toilet arena, Kohler has produced a luxurious model with a sensor that knows you’re approaching and automatically offers up a foot warmer and heated seat. It also has a bidet, ambient lighting and can play music.
“The other toilet, equipped with Touchless Response, lets you wave your hand to flush. It also has an auto-warming seat that can be triggered via voice, and comes with a nightlight.”
In the future, Engadget also predicts these bathrooms will be able to glean health information from your waste. They might be able to tell if a woman is pregnant, while smart medicine cabinets may prompt people to take their medication.
Smart bathroom ambiance
A toilet with foot warmer and heated seat may seem a novelty, but already the ambiance of the bathroom is improving in a host of existing and evolving ways.
Lighting can be controlled by voice command or automation, while underfloor heating can also be tied into your smart home prompts.
That means before you enter the bathroom, you can have it primed for your ideal conditions, with nice warm floors and the lighting to suit.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg states: “In the future, spa-like experiences at home will be the norm. No need to draw your own bath—your digital assistant can do that for you with smart shower systems like those from U by Moen. High-tech tubs such as those from Toto will induce relaxed brain waves, while nose-geared gadgets like Olfinity will let you program and control your own aromatherapy session from your iPhone while you soak”.
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