GoKawiilWe’ve been at Berlin’s massive IFA expo for the past few days, diving into all the latest the tech world is showing off. While we’ve seen deeply impressive plans for your home and computer, we’ve also seen things that just make us go, “…Huh.”
With so many innovations and approaches at IFA, some of it was bound to get weird. Out of the many robot vacuums, pool cleaners, foldable phones and headphones we found, we also kept track of the strangist things on the floor. Here’s what made us pause, what it’s supposed to do — and how useful we think it really is.
Govee’s mood-reading skylight
Govee’s giant mood light was on display at IFA. David Watsky/CNET
Govee has long been at the forefront of strange home lighting creations, from literal curtains of light to spread across your garage to table lamps that look more like alien artifacts. Now Govee is showing off one of its oddest products yet: a dome-like ceiling light designed to mimic the sky and be “mood-responsive.”
In this case, mood-responsive means you can use Govee’s AI to talk about your mood or how you’re feeling, and the Govee app will suggest ceiling light color schemes to match. But the light can also create a specific blue wavelength designed to evoke blue skies and natural daylight.
Too weird to work? Not as weird as you may think. I’ve tested Govee’s AI before, and you really can generate lighting patterns based on your mood or random musings. But Govee already has so many lighting scenes in its app that I didn’t find it very practical — though definitely fun. I wonder how well it will work with a full ceiling light.
A gigantic tofu maker
The Nuvell plant protein maker is about the size of an espresso machine. David Watsky/CNET
If your two problems are not eating enough plant protein and having too much counter space, the Nuvell is here. This massive bean cooker and compressor is the size of an espresso machine and churns out blocks of tofu in as little as 30 minutes. It can make other vegan proteins depending on the legume you stick inside.
... continue reading