Panasonic put some fun into the po-faced tech demos of IFA 2014 with its smart induction hob and a mirror which helps with your make-up.
The Japanese brand doesn’t push its home technology credentials much in the UK, but the smart home concept room at the centre of its show stand was full of innovation.
A smart kitchen full of cameras in useful places sat alongside a connected living room where the TV was the hub of your activity.
The clever kitchen demo revolved around a smart induction hob which could stir liquid in a pan by rotating power through the induction elements in the surface.
Panasonic’s engineers have also realised that an induction hob can also power other devices placed on it – just like a wireless mobile phone charger – so they’ve created a grill unit and a blender which both draw power from the surface below.
Also in the smart kitchen: an oven with a camera which shows how your cooking’s doing and how long’s left, and a dishwasher with a camera to show you when it’s clean (we’re not sure about that last one).
In the living room, a 4K Ultra HD tells you how that roast chicken’s doing, and also indicates when you’ve got emails and how much your Tesla car has charged – did we mention that Panasonic produces batteries for the Tesla?
The final treat in Panasonic’s smart home concept showroom is a mirrored 4K ultra HD screen with a built-in 4K camera.
That’s something we’ve already seen on Toshiba’s stand, but instead of serious health information, the Panasonic concept paints make-up onto your face.
You can pick from a range of palettes and styles to see how you’ll look with a bit of glitter around the eyes or a different shade of lip gloss.
Now all it needs is robot hands to apply the make-up and the future will be here, along with the more conventional home network system Panny was showcasing.
Sadly, this collection of app-connected security sensors, cameras and smart switches isn’t yet scheduled for the UK, although competing tech from Devolo and D-Link will be coming here soon.
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