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Moen's latest faucet can be controlled entirely with gestures
The company is connecting many of its devices to help protect homes against water damage.
Moen's voice-activated faucet gives cooks precise amounts of water
Moen, one of the biggest faucet companies in the US, was last spotted at CES showing off its shower "concierge," but now it's turning its attention to more traditional sink fixtures. This year, it announced the U by Moen Smart Faucet -- a voice-activated faucet that helps you do everyday kitchen tasks hands-free. From preparing a baby's bottle to filling a pasta pot, just tell the faucet how much water you need, and at what temperature, and it'll dispense it on command. You can set unlimited personalized presets for specific cooking tasks, and activate water flow through voice control, a wave sensor, or via a good old fashioned button. Moen hasn't announced pricing for its latest addition, but it's likely to cost a substantial amount more than old-fashioned mechanical faucets.
Kohler's Alexa-enabled Sensate kitchen faucet quenches thirst on command
In 2019, more than ever, we're expecting to see Alexa in everything. The Sensate faucet from Kohler is the latest example of where Amazon's voice assistant can find another home. To be fair, while a voice-activated microwave seems less than useful, a faucet (and the water that comes with it) seems at least a somewhat sensible application of hands-free technology.
Renshui rethinks the bathroom faucet
True revolutions in faucet designs may be few and far between, but China's Renshui is certainly doing its part to shake things up, and has now introduced yet another faucet sure to amaze and confuse visitors to your humble abode. In addition to breaking with the usual faucet design, this model packs a touch panel that will let you switch between hot and cold water, or dial in the exact temperature you want -- which is, of course, displayed on the faucet itself (it'll even warn you if the water is getting too hot). No word on availability over here, but it did recently win a red dot design award, so the chances of a release may have gotten a bit better.
Touch interactive kitchen faucet: we'll take one
If you're like us, you spend a fair amount of time in the kitchen, and you're undoubtedly already aware of the fact that faucets usually leave plenty to be desired. They're often hideous, and are pretty inconveniently set up most of the time, too. This concept -- which has been fully produced as a prototype -- is made from a slab of Corian, and employs tap gestures for operation. Call us crazy, but we're ready to lay down some cash for one of these right now. Unfortunately, they're not for sale (at least not yet) but you can check it out further in the video below.
Video: iHouse SmartFaucet with face recognition is more smug than smart
Ready for the ultimate in convergence overkill? Meet the SmartFaucet from iHouse; a tap with built-in face recognition technology that automatically adjusts the water pressure and temperature to your preferred settings. The touchscreen display even features widgets for at-a-glance access to eMail, appointments, and the outside temperature while LEDs illuminate the flow with temperature matching colors. iHouse's Fadec (pictured after the break) also adds face recognition to a 2.8-inch in-house remote control. That little trick allows the remote to respond to pre-programmed scenes (think AC, lighting, audio) customized by inhabitant. Too much? Never.[Via BornRich]
The Queue: Archdruids? Nahh. Okay, maybe.
Welcome back to The Queue, WoW Insider's daily Q&A column where the WoW Insider team answers your questions about the World of Warcraft. Apparently I missed a Doctor Who reference in one of the questions I answered yesterday. Maybe? Heck if I know. If you're looking for our resident Doctor Who nerd, direct your references to Elizabeth Harper. They go way over my head.Zoidberg asked...A while ago, we heard some rumors about a new hero class called archdruid. (Or something like that.) What do we know about these guys? Is this a possibility for the 4.0 hero class?
Cat Faucet solves elusive cat drinking from sink issue, we sigh in relief
Cats like to drink from everywhere but the places they're supposed to drink from, and for that they offer no excuses, reasons, and just walk away, tails in the air. This independent spirit, though, means that we're often stuck turning faucets on and off for thirsty felines because heaven forbid they drink from a dish. One crafty soul has solved this gripping conundrum with an IR detector, valves, some plastic tubing, and a whole lot of moxie. The detector can even suss out if the subject is human or feline in order to keep the faucet from triggering every time someone walks by. Our test subjects won't comment on the new tech, but they've stopped complaining and have become extremely athletic and hydrated super-cats of doom. Still reading? Peep the video after the break of hot kitty drinking action. [Via Make]
Hidden Tap faucet flows from left to right as you go from dirty to clean
Here's one of those inventions that just makes sense. The Hidden Tap by Jelmer Moorman uses a sensor to follow your hands and dispense water. As you move your hands from left to right under the faucet, water goes from hot to cold just like a regular tap. We have no word on availability, but Hidden Tap is part of the Kunst Zonder Kapsones venture company started by Fernando H. Arias, so we have a feeling that given enough interest, this thing will be showing up in high-end contractors' bags of tricks at some point. Hit the continue link to see the thing in action, but be warned -- it's a .wmv file.[Thanks, Fernando]
Jean Nouvel faucet completes the PlayStation abode
For the diehards out there (oh please, we know you're out there) who've already snapped up a PS3 Grill along with a lifetime supply of SIXAXIS BBQ sauce, there's hardly a better way to accent your PlayStation-themed home than with Jean Nouvel's chrome faucet. We'll be honest -- the glaring lack of a square button leads us to believe that this thing wasn't actually created with Sony's famed controller in mind, but hey, a boy can dream, can't he?[Via PS3Fanboy]
Get water from a PlayStation-inspired faucet
Jean Nouvel is apparently well known in the luxury faucet community, and one of his latest faucets takes a bit of a cue from the world of PlayStation. The entire watering process has been turned into a digital affair, with O turning the water on, and X turning the water off. The triangles adjust the temperature, and well ... there's no Square button. Don't expect to change the water pressure either.Who knows what the price for this baby is? We're going to guess "expensive," somewhere much higher than the cost of a PS3.[Via Kotaku]
Equa's Light Delight LED faucet system
We can't say we're digging Equa's traditional design for their Light Delight faucet system as much as Hansa's more futuristic interpretation, but they're both based on the same idea, which is just as sweet as the first time we saw it. Like the Hansa unit, the Light Delight senses the temperature of the water and turns on a red LED to light up the water when it's hot and a blue LED when it's cold; Equa one ups Hansa though, adding a violet light when the water's just warm -- aren't technological advancements amazing? We're not sure how readily available these are but at least one U.K. retailer is selling a couple of different models in the £400 to £500 range, so start saving your quid -- or just wait for the cheap knock-offs to start flooding in.[Via Inhabitat]
