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Smart products tackle pancakes, makeovers (w/video)

 
Design your own shapes with a PancakeBot, shown at work on Monday at the International Housewares Show in Chicago. 
Design your own shapes with a PancakeBot, shown at work on Monday at the International Housewares Show in Chicago. 
Published March 12, 2015

CHICAGO

In the persistent quest to take all human effort out of basic tasks, manufacturers showcased several new "smart" products at the recent International Home and Housewares Show in Chicago that tackle everything from pancake design to makeovers.

Here are a couple of high-tech innovations that may be coming soon to stores:

PANCAKEBOT: "Print" intricate pancake designs — the Eiffel Tower with all its lattice, for example — using a "smart batter dispensing system" that traces the desired image onto a griddle. Users design the image with provided software, save the image on an SD card, and insert that into the PancakeBot, which uses a combination of compressed air and a vacuum to control where the batter is dispensed.

California inventor Miguel Valenzuela, who in his day job works as a civil engineer at the San Diego County Water Authority, said "it is about inspiring kids to look at technology in different ways." In addition to kids at home being able to print dinosaurs or any other shapes that excite them in pancake form, restaurants could customize pancakes for customers or print their logos on pancakes.

The PancakeBot, which costs $299, is expected to launch in early fall at a large retailer that caters to commercial customers, said Evan Dash, CEO of product innovation company Storebound, which helps inventors get their products to market. He sees it at first being used in restaurants.

PANASONIC'S FUTURE MIRROR: This mirror shows how different colors or styles of makeup would look on your face — or, for men, whether a moustache is a good idea — without anyone having to actually apply the makeup or grow the moustache. Unlike virtual photo tools with similar purposes, the mirror image isn't frozen, but moves with you as you turn your head and blink.

It could cut down on time spent sampling lipsticks and eye shadows at Sephora or Ulta — though, arguably, that's the fun part of it — and lighting options let you see how the palette would appear in different settings. In addition, the mirror pinpoints wrinkles, sunspots and other skin imperfections and recommends products and lifestyle regimens to improve them.

The company is in "discussion phases" with several specialty retailers that could install the mirrors in their stores, said Corrie Murphy, vice president of consumer marketing and beauty.