With Boston’s growing startup culture, prominent technology institutions and major student populations, it’s no surprise that some of today’s newest and most exciting technology innovations rise straight out of the Hub. Whether these gadgets are used to do daily chores, cut down on energy costs, or travel more comfortably, they each have a way of making modern life easier.
iRobot Roomba i7+
Instead of spending inordinate amounts of time pushing a vacuum cleaner back and forth throughout your house, let something do it for you.
This automated robotic vacuum, with multi-surface rubber brushes and smart home mapping technology is a household game changer. The newest iRobot Roomba model from the Bedford, Massachusetts, company, learns, maps and adapts to what you and your home needs specifically.
Plus, you’re always in control of when and where cleaning gets done—even if you’re not literally in your digs—via the iRobot Home App. Who doesn’t love coming home to a clean house?
$949.99
Embr Wave Bracelet
We’ve all been the odd woman out at the office, either too hot or too cold compared to those colleagues who aren’t bothered at all by blasting, unadjustable heat or air conditioning.
Thanks to the founders of Embr Labs, who, too, were fed up with this familiar scenario, there is now the Embr Wave bracelet, a personal device that heats or cools one part of your inner wrist and controls your body’s temperature—which means you don’t ever have to face the wrath of your warm-blooded office mates again.
The bracelet uses NASA-grade thermoelectric technology, lithium ion battery and a slick design.
$299
New Balance Titanium Adjustable IT Band Strap
Favorite native sneaker company New Balance has some high-tech tricks up its sleeve.
This one, built for runners and best worn on your leg, is an adjustable strap embedded with titanium and specially designed to reduce strain on the iliotibial band. It increases blood flow, keeping the area warm while reducing muscle tension.
$19.99
Sense home energy monitoring system
Created and developed in Boston, Sense—a small but powerful computer—provides insight into your home energy use through your smartphone.
With a simple installation of the device in your home’s electrical panel by a licensed electrician, you can track the amount of watts you use broken down by appliance.
Sense also measures solar production versus power consumption and alerts you when a light is turned on in the house, letting you know when the kids come home.
$299 – $349
Skelmet F1 Cape Cod Sunglasses
Most of us don’t have time to waste searching for a pair of sunglasses that fits our face perfectly, or want to spend the money on adjusting the frame.
What luck: Skelmet designs a pair for you, and only you. Each and every pair is custom-made to fit using cutting-edge AI technology and 3D printing.
Skelmet’s F1 Cape Cod style is made with extremely light materials and features a pinless, screwless interlocking design so you can easily carry it around your pocket or purse.
$375
Hypnap TruRest
Boston’s MassChallenge 2018 accelerator participant Hypnap has created an innovative product for frequent flyers.
The TruRest is an ergonomically designed and highly adjustable tool that supports the user’s body in a forward-leaning position to facilitate rest.
Those of you who have suffered long flights without being able to fall asleep might finally find relaxation, but you will have to wait several months to use it. Individuals can pre-order TruRest now and expect to receive it by November 2019.
$129 (Pre-order price)