THE BYTE
Welcome to the BYTE where we serve up the latest home and tech news from the last week for you to sink your teeth into.
This week we’re taking a BYTE out of robotic furniture, a wearable device for ADHD kids, car subscriptions, 3D prosthetics, and Ikea’s new Pinterest catalog. Dig in!
Generally
Shape-Shifting Furniture
Why?
Across the globe, housing units are starting to get smaller and smaller. Research shows that U.S. apartment floorplans have shrunk by nearly 10% over the past 10 years. With little to no room for everyday furniture (think bed, desk, and dining room table), these units can help us do more with less. The new line of furniture is called “Rognan” and is basically an L-shaped unit that moves with a motor and switch. One side of the unit features a full-sized bed and on the other side, a couch.
A New Way to Monitor Kids with ADHD
Meet Agent Unicorn. Not a spy or part of the FBI, but a 3D-printed headpiece that monitors the P300 activity on kids with ADHD. Why a unicorn? According to the device’s inventor, “the more fantastic the horn is, the more excited and engaged kids tend to be”. The headpiece itself holds EEG electrodes that connect to the brain and the horn piece is actually an 8-megapixel camera that records video. The data gathered provides doctors a clearer picture on how kids react to things throughout their entire day.
Take Notes
Why Buy When You Can Subscribe?
Paid subscriptions to products or services is not a new concept. If you have Netflix, Hulu, Dollar Shave Club, or Stitch Fix, you know all about how subscription services work. But what if you could sign up for a car subscription service without the hassle of going to a car dealership? That’s exactly what a few car companies have set out to do. The pros? Short-term plans, ability to choose the make and model of car, and package pricing. The cons? These services are not available in all major cities and you’re going to be paying a hefty monthly premium, even for a not-so-luxurious car.
A More Affordable Option
We’ve all seen how 3D printing works for creating houses, but what if you could take that concept and apply it to healthcare? That’s exactly what one hospital in Guatemala set out to accomplish. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on a prosthetic arm, patients in this hospital will typically spend $4 because of this new digital process.
A Digital Ikea Catalog
Ikea is moving away from physical catalogs and towards… Pinterest? Yes, Pinterest. According to Ikea Media Project Manager, Kerri Longarzo, “we were running out of ways to show the catalog to people online, so we sought out something different.” This tool – a questionnaire built into the Pinterest platform – allows users to pick what they’re shopping for and what styles they’re interested in. The end goal? Auto-populated Pinterest boards that contain personalized pins that are linked to Ikea products on the Ikea website. A win-win for not only the consumers but Ikea as well.
Totally Unrelated
IHOP is Changing the Way Pancakes Look
After last year’s social media uproar, IHOP has decided to once again to make a scene. And this time, it doesn’t involve changing the name of the infamous company, but rather the definition of what the letter P in IHOP means. Yes, pancakes are still in, but what about steak burger pancakes?
