Cool Stuff for the Bath and Kitchen From CES

Kohler Sensate Touchless Faucet

­­The Consumer Electronic Show (CES) is the world’s largest technology showcase and the 2019 edition held in early January offered the latest head-turning advancements for the bath and kitchen.  Here are several products that caught our eye.

Kohler’s Sensate Touchless Kitchen Faucet won a Best of Innovation Award.  The Sensat Touchless Kitchen Faucet turns water on and off through voice commands or motion-based interactions. Fill an eight-ounce cup of water or a large pot of water to make pasta with a hands-free voice command. A sensor on the faucet valve monitors water usage, which is displayed on the KOHLER Konnect app for convenience and will issue an alert if unusual usage is detected. KOHLER Konnect offers support in select products for Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple HomeKit.

Kohler Nume 2.0 Intelligent Toilet

The Kohler Numi 2.0 Intelligent Toilet has water efficiency checks that make sure only the water that is necessary to remove waste is used. The Numi 2.0 features smart lighting that makes it easy to see your way around the bathroom even in the dead of night — and those lights are interactive, multicolored and dynamic so they can adjust to the setting. The toilet has personalized cleansing functions that make sure the toilet is set to individual specifications, including a heated seat, drying functionality and voice control. The Numi 2.0 Intelligent Toilet has high-quality speakers built right into it, and those speakers come equipped with Amazon's voice assistant Alexa. If you have a question while you're sitting on the toilet, just ask Alexa. You can also run your home automation processes while in the bathroom. You can even have Alexa queue up your favorite playlist and watch the toilet's lights sync up to the beat. Your bathroom can double as your own personal dance club if you so desire. The Numi 2.0 Intelligent Toilet is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2019.

TOTO NEOREST NX2

TOTO's NEOREST NX2 Intelligent Toilet with ACTILIGHT and Flotation Tub with ZERO DIMENSION were also named CES 2019 Innovation Awards honorees. TOTO's NEOREST NX2 is its most beautiful intelligent toilet with its most advanced cleansing technology. It offers innovations consumers appreciate: high-tech sensor operation with auto open/close and auto flush; integrated WASHLET personal cleansing system with warm, aerated water to cleanse, warm air dryer, heated seat, and in-bowl catalytic deodorizer; and energy- and water-saving features. The NEOREST NX2's ACTILIGHT bowl cleansing technology is completely safe for the environment. It uses a plain water pre-mist that reduces waste and grime's sticking.

TOTO's Flotation Tub simulates zero gravity by offering bathers the experience of total weightlessness. TOTO's research revealed that the ZERO DIMENSION bathing posture completely relaxes mind and body. Special massage jets produce a therapeutic flow of warm air bubbles enveloping the entire body. A stream of warm water flows from the height-adjustable Neck Spa, an ergonomic pillow that keeps the neck and shoulders comfortably warm. HYDROHANDS massage jets create the experience of real hands massaging the lower back. All functions are easily operated using the control panel on the inside of the tub.

Kitchen Aid Smart Display

KitchenAid's Smart Display is a multi-functional smart home device with a 10-inch screen that offers home chefs a variety of tools and applications including step-by-step recipe instructions, shopping lists and smart home control via a central hub with Google Assistant. Usevoice commands to watch YouTube, look up recipes, research restaurants or enjoy live music or TV. 


The KitchenAid Smart Display also has exclusive cooking content courtesy of the Whirlpool-owned app Yummly. Open Yummly with a voice command to see personalized recipe recommendations based on prior use. Select a recipe, and Yummly can walk you through the cooking steps. A new Yummly Pro service even offers video guides for recipes hosted by celebrity chefs. KitchenAid is striving to release the Smart Display in the second half of 2019 and estimates the price between $200 and $300.

Whirlpool Smart All-in-One Washer and Dryer

Whirlpool's Smart All-in-One Washer and Dryer was a CES 2019 Innovation Award Honoree for its ability to complete a load of laundry. That's right, imagine washing and drying a load of laundry without having to move items from one machine to another. Whirlpool brand's newly upgraded laundry unit features smart laundry capabilities through the Whirlpool app, and coming soon in 2019, voice control with a compatible voice-enabled device will be available to make laundry easier from start to finish.

Bosch Projection and Interaction (PAI)

Bosch unveiled its Projection and Interaction at CES. PAI is a miniature smart projector that converts any surface into a touchscreen and gesture-based display. The PAI offers a recipe and cooking catalog that is connected to Bosch's other smart appliances. The PAI can identify individual ingredients to suggest recipe ideas or start the oven in advance. But most impressive is its unnecessary but fun ability to divide cakes into perfect portions for slicing.

Heatworks showcased a Wi-Fi- Connected Countertop Dishwasher which won a Best of Innovation Award in the Home Appliances category. The estimated cost is around $300 and should be available sometime in 2019.

Folidmate

Foldimate featured a functioning version of its laundry-folding robot at CES. It's essentially a large appliance that lets you feed in a full load of laundry for folding. It can fold about 25 articles of clothing – of various materials and sizes – in under five minutes. It won't handle all items such as towels, bedsheets and baby clothes. Other than those items, reviewers gave Foldimate high marks.