by Mark Ellwood
on app tweaks to allow users to add their
own.) As you add each ingredient to a bowl
you place on top of the scale, the app will
signal you when the right quantity has
been reached — no measuring spoons or
cups required. It can even suggest a simple
substitution if you’re out of an ingredient or,
if you have less of something than the recipe
calls for, recalibrate all the measurements to
go with it. It’s programmable, too, so you can
cook one meal or an entire week’s without
iddling with calculations. Bonus: the irm
just added cocktail recipes — so once dinner’s
in the oven, use Drop to mix the perfect
aperitif, then sip, smugly, as you wait.
The other intriguing IoT gizmo is one of
those rare Kickstarter success stories you
hear about.Sammy Screamer Motion
Alarm(bleepbleeps.com) is a tiny, triangular
motion sensor that’s Bluetooth enabled and
has a magnetised back and hanging loop.
Attach it to an object, and if it’s moved, it’ll
emit a high-pitched scream (at whatever
volume you set) and send an alert to its
Android or iOS app up to 30m away.
It’s designed to be a parenting tool (think
booby-trapped lolly jars), but I think it’s
the perfect theft-prooing device hidden in
the frame of a pricey bike, or stashed in the
backpack hanging on your chair in a cafe.EXPERT-LEVEL IoT
Calm the tech riot with a central hubIf you’re just dabbling in IoT products,
you can skip this section. But if you plan
to go of the rails with a dozen or moreInternet-enabled products (which can
drag your Wi-Fi down to dial-up slow) and
even time them to work together, you’re
going to need a hub. To make sure you can
operate all your IoT devices seamlessly
together, buy only products lagged as using
Z-Wave. Put simply, there are countless
competing IoT systems — nerd back-end
technology that’s involved in internet
connectivity but is mutually incompatible
— and in my experience, Z-Wave is the most
commonplace and possibly the best of them.
You can also opt forYonomi(free on iOS and
Android,yonomi.co), an app that subs for
this hardware, detecting and controlling
smart devices from almost every major IoT
brand from your phone. But, if you do see
yourself enthusiastically buying into the IoT
movement, here’s one last piece of advice:
Be cautious with crowdfunded gizmos.
“About a third of the projects never see
the light of day — the failure rate is very
high,” says designer Deschamps-Sonsino.
“If you see something you like, put a
reminder in your calendar for six months
from now, to see if they delivered or not.”
You’ll want to put that same patience to
use when trying out any new product. This
tech is pioneering, and it’s prone to hiccups.
Think of it as the price of impressing your
mates with your cutting-edge tech. That
“world of tomorrow”? It’s already here.■Mark Ellwood is the author of
Bargain Fever: How to Shop
in a Discounted World.August has a bona ide pedigree: it (along
with other great items) was conceived
by Yves Béhar, the renowned industrial
designer behind the Jambox speaker and
Jawbone headset, and has been successfully
sold for two years. It looks good and is truly
easy to install in about 15 minutes using just
a standard screwdriver. The SmartLock
also operates on standard batteries that
need replacing only once a year. Plus, it
has nifty features like Auto-Unlock, which
geolocates you via your phone and opens
the door when you approach. And if you’re
dead set on keeping a watchful eye on your
house, shell out for August’s Wi-Fi-enabled
Doorbell CamandConnect box as well.
NEXT-LEVEL IoT
Give your pad some Vegas flash
ThePhilips Hue lighting starter system
(meethue.com) lets you turn ordinary lamps
and lights into a light show worthy of the
Vegas Strip. It comes with a control bridge
and three smart LED multicolour bulbs;
additional bulbs are available for about
$60 each. (Pricey, but if it helps to know,
they’re made to last around 15,000 hours,
or more than a year and a half.) Each bulb is
individually controlled by the Hue app on
your smartphone (free on iOS and Android),
so you can turn it any colour with just a
swipe. You can pre-program the app to
tweak the lighting at a certain time of day, or
even to slowly brighten in the morning for
a gentler “alarm” using the built-in Sunrise
program. And if you’re going away, you can
set the bulbs to switch on or of to suggest
someone’s home. You’re not limited by
built-in settings, either: With a few clicks you
can create and store a custom “scene”, so
you can use your favourite team’s colours
to ramp up the spirit before a big game, or
strike the right mood with sexy lighting after
a successful date.
SENIOR-LEVEL IoT
Cut cooking time and scare thieves
At irst glance, theDrop Scale(getdrop.
com), which pairs a weighing scale with an
app on your Apple device, might seem like
a gimmick. Look closer, though, and you’ll
ind a clever kitchen gizmo that makes
cooking such a no-brainer you’ll have no
excuse for blowing your eating regimen on
lazy take-out. Here’s how it works: choose
a recipe from the hundreds available on the
Drop app. (The company’s also working
Never lose (or use) your
housekeysagain.The
August SmartLock can
letanyone—including
you — in remotely.AUGUST 2016 MEN’S FITNESS 55