Keeping a bit of greenery around your pad works wonders for keeping the air in your house fresh, even without any outside help. But with the addition of a bit of technology, the purifying power of plants can apparently be supercharged.
That’s the idea behind the Andrea Air Purifier, a product that just hit the market a few days ago. Developed by a French product designer and a Harvard University biomedical engineer, Andrea is essentially a living air filter that accelerates room pollutants through the active infrastructure system of a plant to continuously clean and oxygenate your home’s atmosphere.
Here’s how it works: once you’ve got a living plant growing happily inside the chamber, just switch it on and a small fan will draw in air from the top. One fan blows breezes around the leaves, while a second fan sucks the air down through the soil. Microbes on the plant’s roots metabolize more toxins than the leaves do, and the soil works like a traditional charcoal filter to capture even more nasty bits. Underneath the soil, a tray of water produces humidity that keeps the plant moist and traps additional toxic molecules. And once the air has passed through this all-natural filtration gauntlet, a vent on the side recirculates it into the room.
Apparently, this process is derived from experimental research conducted by NASA back in the 1980’s. According to Andrea’s own independent research, the system is not only vastly superior to traditional carbon-based air filters, but also more than 1,000 percent more effective at purifying air than a normal houseplant.
Andrea’s designers have spent the last year and more than a quarter of a million dollars to develop the system, but now that all the kinks have been worked out, it’s finally ready to ship. You can snag one up on Amazon for around $225 bucks right now, which is definitely quite a bit steeper than your average planting pot, but also pretty reasonable in comparison to the average air purifier.
Outdoor security cameras are not always practical if you live in an apartment or rental. Drilling into an exterior wall may be off-limits, while pointing a regular indoor camera through a window can create another problem once reflections start showing up after dark.
Baseus is trying to solve both issues with the new PrimeSentinel W1, a $69.99 security camera designed specifically to monitor the outdoors through glass. It mounts directly to a window without drilling and uses a 4K Starlight sensor with an F1.0 aperture for full-color monitoring during the day and at night.
This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Best Buy.
Technology evolves every day, transforming how we live and work. Our devices are becoming more than tools we use. They are increasingly capable companions that help streamline day-to-day routines and spark creative ideas. If you have been waiting for the right moment to upgrade your tech setup, the Discover Samsung Shopping Event offers an opportunity to explore what connected, AI-powered living can look like.
With AI progressing so fast, it's only a matter of time before we start getting AI companions like the ones we used to see in movies like R2-D2, Wall-E, or Baymax. Now, Singapore-based OKA Technology has unveiled Mori, a cute little AI companion that looks less like a conventional home robot and more like someone turned the Pokémon Foongus into a table lamp.
Mori isn't meant to clean your house or control your smart home, but to serve as what OKA calls a "Nature Companion." It uses subtle movements, warm lighting, nature-inspired sounds, and small reactions to make its presence around the house feel calming rather than distracting. Mori can sit quietly while you read, sway along to music, welcome you when you enter a room, or encourage you to slow down for a moment without requiring a screen or a conversation.