Color me not surprised that this idea comes from England, Portland’s rainy spirit animal. The Photon Space is billed as a “luxury daylight suite,” a glass structure designed to maximize sun exposure during short- or long-term stays. Think of it as a vacay-sun.
Made entirely of glass, the structure offers not only 360-degree views but the ability to “precisely control the amount of light, glare, and heat” entering the structure. Inhabitants can change the intelligent from translucent to transparent with a switch, while blocking significant amounts of solar radiation (63 percent), UV transmittance (99.9 percent), and sound (85 percent). If you want to catch a nap during the day or some privacy at night, you can darken the Photon Space as well. The 485-square-foot units are modular and can accommodate a bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom.
Russell Foster, professor of circadian neuroscience at the University of Oxford, is part of the project. He’s done research on sleep cycles (you can see his TED Talk on the subject here), especially on how they’re regulated by light. Nine of the Photon Pods are being used in research by Foster and his team to study the effects of daylight on humans.
“The daylight shortly after dawn is 50 to 100 times brighter than artificial home or office light,” says Foster, according to the Photon Space’s website. “When we expose ourselves to this natural light it sets the body clock and increases alertness. it is like having a ‘Photon Shower.’ It makes you feel more alive and able to get on with your day.”
It takes around four weeks to build a Photon Space, and you can order your own for around $330,000, according to Gizmag. I could buy a lot of plane tickets to sunny islands for that …
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.
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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.