Episode 1909
Home Innovation Roundup: Best New Innovations for your home from CES 2025
Eric G dives into the highlights from the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, focusing on the latest advancements in smart home technology. From innovative robotic vacuums like the Roborock Soros Z70, which features a groundbreaking mechanical arm for enhanced cleaning capabilities, to affordable motorized blinds from Casita by Lutron, the episode showcases how these products can simplify household chores and elevate home living. Eric also discusses the exciting new offerings from Aqara, which include multifunctional smart home devices designed to integrate seamlessly into modern lifestyles. Additionally, he highlights the importance of fall detection technology for seniors with the Cami Vision camera, emphasizing safety in the home. Tune in for insights on how these cutting-edge products can transform your everyday living and keep your home ahead of the curve.
With a focus on the future of home improvement, this podcast episode takes listeners through the latest trends and innovations showcased at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Eric G. presents an insightful look at the Roborock Soros Z70, a robotic vacuum that is revolutionizing home cleaning with its advanced features, including a foldable mechanical arm designed to navigate and tidy up obstacles in its path. Eric enthusiastically describes the practical applications of this technology, especially for busy households with pets. The episode further delves into the realm of smart blinds, spotlighting Lutron's Casita smart shades, which provide a high-quality solution for homeowners looking to automate their window treatments at a more accessible price point.
Beyond the gadgets, Eric addresses the critical social issues of natural disasters, specifically focusing on the ongoing recovery efforts from wildfires and hurricanes. He emphasizes the importance of community resilience and the need for preparedness in our homes. This poignant discussion serves as a reminder that while technology can enhance our living spaces, we must also remain vigilant and proactive in safeguarding our homes against potential threats. The episode weaves together personal anecdotes and expert insights, enriching the listener's understanding of how to blend innovative technology with practical home safety considerations.
Listeners are likely to find the discussion both enlightening and relatable, as Eric balances technical details with an engaging narrative style. His ability to contextualize smart home advancements within the framework of current events provides a unique angle that encourages listeners to think critically about their home environments. This episode is a treasure trove of information for anyone interested in enhancing their living space while also cultivating a sense of security and preparedness.
Takeaways:
- Eric G. highlights the innovative Roborock Soros Z70, a robotic vacuum with advanced obstacle-clearing capabilities.
- The new Casita smart shades from Lutron offer high-quality motorized blinds at budget-friendly prices.
- The Switchbot K20 combines a robotic vacuum with the ability to move household items.
- Aqara is launching a touchscreen hub that centralizes control for your smart home devices.
- Cami Vision's AI-powered fall detection camera offers enhanced safety for seniors at home.
- The podcast emphasizes preparing for household disasters with actionable steps to increase insurance claims success.
Links referenced in this episode:
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Monument Grills
- Roborock
- Lutron
- Aqara
- Cami Vision
Mentioned in this episode:
Check out the latest from Monument Grills!
Check out the BEST Trailer in the US!
Transcript
It's AROUND THE house.
Eric G.:When it comes to remodeling and renovating your home, there is a lot to know, but we've got you covered.
Eric G.:This is AROUND THE house.
Eric G.:Welcome to the Round the House show, the next generation of home improvement.
Eric G.:I'm Eric G.
Eric G.:Thanks for joining me today in our midweek update.
Eric G.:Now, this episode is brought to you by our friends at Monument Grills.
Eric G.:If you're trying to get that barbecue for the big game coming up, man, now is the time to get a check it out@money.com.
Eric G.:well, you know, my thoughts again are out there with all of the people that are just suffering from the California wildfires, the people in the west, the people in the east that are still, you know, I and I get all of my friends that are down there, all of you guys that are down there in the Southeast going, hey, what about us?
Eric G.:We got years to rebuild.
Eric G.:I get it, guys.
Eric G.:I really do.
Eric G.:And it feels like you're getting ignored.
Eric G.:But one thing I just want everybody to remind, just a quick reminder to my friends in the Southeast, their hurricane is still going.
Eric G.:They're still losing houses every day.
Eric G.:There's still people.
Eric G.:They're still trying to find the people that they can't find.
Eric G.:And the winds are still going.
Eric G.:So if you think about it as a hurricane, that hurricane is still rolling right now.
Eric G.:They're still in the middle of it.
Eric G.:And once all the fires are out, unfortunately, just like you, the news cycle is going to move someplace else and it will be a local story and not a national story.
Eric G.:But that's enough about the fires right now.
Eric G.:You know, they got winds and stuff going, so hopefully they can get that wrapped up and Southern California can get some rain.
Eric G.:But that's not what we're talking about here today.
Eric G.:This was going to be a discussion last week, but with the current events, I wanted to talk about, of course, what was going on there.
Eric G.:So we pushed our Consumer Electronics Show.
Eric G.:Quick update.
Eric G.: What happened last week in: Eric G.:And yes, that show can be jam packed full of gaming televisions, smart cars, all that stuff like that.
Eric G.:But there's also a lot of stuff mixed in for your home.
Eric G.:And this is where a lot of those new electronic products for your home come out.
Eric G.:And I've got a bunch of stuff to talk about here today.
Eric G.:We'll see if we can keep it a little brief.
Eric G.:I don't want to make this an hour show today because that's not what we do.
Eric G.:But I tell you what, One of my favorite new things that just came out or is being released here soon, but was revealed at ces are my friends at roborock now.
Eric G.:Roborock is my favorite robot vacuum.
Eric G.:I have one in my house.
Eric G.:I've got the S8 Max V Ultra.
Eric G.:It goes around on my hardwood floors, it vacuums.
Eric G.:If there's a rug on it, it goes over the top and vacuums it, it scrubs, it mops, it dries.
Eric G.:And it goes back to its docking station and empties it all out.
Eric G.:So you can get multiple cleanings without having to change bags and things like that.
Eric G.:It actually has a vacuum bag in it so you can pull it out.
Eric G.:You're not trying to clean out some crazy dust canister that seems to get the dust right back out in the room again.
Eric G.:So that works really well.
Eric G.:But they came out with the new Soros S A R O S series.
Eric G.:Holy smokes.
Eric G.:This is the smartest vacuum robot vacuum I have ever seen.
Eric G.:So the Soros Z70 is the first mass produced robotic vacuum with a foldable 5 axis mechanical army for an elevated cleaning experience.
Eric G.:So basically this innovative arm allows the Saros Z70 to move obstacles out of the way and clean areas previously blocked.
Eric G.:So if you've got a sock sitting on the floor or a flip flop or a shoe, it'll grab it and put it back where it's supposed to go as long as it can reach it.
Eric G.:So it can perform simple household tasks and even serve as a companion, all while maintaining Roborock's pioneering features of an industry leading ultra thin, very thin design.
Eric G.:So it's cool.
Eric G.:Now if I can get this thing to go grab me a beer or a whiskey.
Eric G.:That's the ultimate right there.
Eric G.:So anyway, this is really cool.
Eric G.:This omni grip mechanical arm goes through, pick stuff up.
Eric G.:The height of this thing is cool.
Eric G.:And this is where I think the brilliance of their vacuums are.
Eric G.:It's only 3.14 inches high.
Eric G.:So where that makes a big difference is if you've got furniture that's elevated with legs or the toe kick in your kitchen, that's 4 to 5 inches, depending on what you got there.
Eric G.:It's super cool and it's smart.
Eric G.:So it's got a dual anti tangle system.
Eric G.:You know, really it is a smart.
Eric G.:If you move stuff around like I did for Christmas, Hanukkah at my house, we got a dual house here.
Eric G.:So we move stuff around, tree goes up.
Eric G.:Actually we had two trees this year.
Eric G.:One in the kitchen, one.
Eric G.:Yeah.
Eric G.:That's how my Wife rolls, Julie's awesome that way.
Eric G.:So things get moved around.
Eric G.:It learns that and when it moves back, it goes back to it.
Eric G.:So it's really cool and it is really multifunctional.
Eric G.:So these are cool things that we're seeing coming out.
Eric G.:I love what Roborock is doing and the best way to find out more about this stuff here is go to us.roborock r o b o r o c k dot com and that's the Soros Z70.
Eric G.:Now these things are not cheap.
Eric G.: type of stuff, you're in that: Eric G.:But if you think about it, this, and Julie mentioned this and I mentioned it as well, and we were sitting here talking about at our house with our Roborock, it saves us because we have two big dogs and man, no matter what they like to track stuff in.
Eric G.:We have pine needles, you know, the fur needles and all the stuff that comes in from outside this time of year.
Eric G.:You know, wet shoes coming in, whatever.
Eric G.:And I tell you what, it can be an every other day mopping experience for our house.
Eric G.:Now I just hit the button.
Eric G.:So this saves you 5 to 10 hours a week of cleaning by just hitting a button and walking away.
Eric G.:And if you start putting that over, you know, 52 weeks a year, that's pretty cheap when it comes to it.
Eric G.:So super compact.
Eric G.:I really think this is just the next generation of, you know, robotic vacuums.
Eric G.:So I'm impressed.
Eric G.:Take a look at this thing.
Eric G.:It's coming out this year, the Roborock Soros Z70.
Eric G.:Now, when it comes to blinds around the house and shades, depending on what you're looking at, I tell you what, I am not the biggest fan of going into the home center, grabbing the stuff off the shelf, having them cut, taking them home, I mean, that's a great temporary or apartment fix or anything like that.
Eric G.:But they're just not really good, high quality stuff.
Eric G.:And if you've got ceilings that are tall, if you've got areas that are hard to reach, like over a staircase, it's always seemed that motorized blinds were either cheeseball cheap or way too expensive.
Eric G.:And I mean that.
Eric G.:You can spend $800 on a, on a, on a motorized blind above a staircase or something like that, and you're like, man, dang, that is expensive.
Eric G.:It adds up quick.
Eric G.:You can spend thousands in a room.
Eric G.:And that has been a big deterrent for motor motorized blinds.
Eric G.:Well, Casita by Lutron did it again.
Eric G.:Now I'm a fan of these.
Eric G.:This is what I use for my motorized blinds in my house.
Eric G.:They're great stuff.
Eric G.:I've got them in my master bedroom.
Eric G.:It has been awesome for that.
Eric G.:I've got it over the doorways.
Eric G.:It's smart.
Eric G.:I can hit a button.
Eric G.:I can automate it.
Eric G.:You know, I can, I can tell it all the things that needs to happen.
Eric G.:But here's what's cool.
Eric G.:Lutron came out with these new lower price point smart shades.
Eric G.:So they have been out for like a decade.
Eric G.:They're great.
Eric G.:So their new smart shades are the highest quality in the market for under 400 bucks.
Eric G.:So these are, you know, tested to perform for 10 plus years of use and backed by a killer warranty on these things.
Eric G.:But really, this is a huge deal.
Eric G.:I mean, I go into homes with my around the house Northwest television show.
Eric G.:We do a home a week where we go in and take a look at homes.
Eric G.:There are 8, 9, 10 year old smartshades, casitas by Lutron in there still working.
Eric G.:Now, are they a little dated?
Eric G.:Yeah, because it's that old.
Eric G.:But they're still cranking along and each year they make more improvements.
Eric G.:More improvements, More improvements.
Eric G.:I mean, I have one in my.
Eric G.:Over my tall window in my master.
Eric G.:These run on the ones I use, run on the D batteries and they work really well.
Eric G.:But I haven't changed the batteries in three years.
Eric G.:And these aren't.
Eric G.:These are just copper tops, if you know what I mean.
Eric G.:So this is really cool.
Eric G.:So Lutron really came out with a budget blind system for under 399.
Eric G.:So basically, if it's under 48 inches wide or 80 inches high, they gotcha.
Eric G.:You can add for 30 bucks, blockout options, things like that.
Eric G.:So now larger custom sizes, you can get up to 8 foot in length and 104 inches high.
Eric G.:Actually up to 104 inches wide for additional price.
Eric G.:Half that additional price is just trying to get the dang things to you because shipping's a little bit tough.
Eric G.:But take a look at this, their new new price point in the Casita smart shades.
Eric G.:So take a look at that.
Eric G.:Super cool, awesome stuff.
Eric G.:And I think one of the highlights at ces, I saw my friend Catherine Emery was out there, so I've been talking to her.
Eric G.:She is a rock star when it comes to CES and I saw her video on the Switchbot K20.
Eric G.:Kind of cool.
Eric G.:It's a unique idea that does combine a robotic vacuum cleaner with accessories.
Eric G.:What kind of accessories?
Eric G.:You could have a little table on top or moves your drink around where it moves your air purifier into the room that you need.
Eric G.:So there's a lot of cool things you can do with this.
Eric G.:And an interesting one, you know, I do love my roborock, but this is something that's a little bit different and I like that it can move stuff around.
Eric G.:So I think this is a new.
Eric G.:A new way to go, if you know what I mean.
Eric G.:With moving stuff around, you can be stacking stuff on top that it moves it around.
Eric G.:I like the air purifier thing where you can move that around and park it in other places.
Eric G.:So that's kind of cool and pretty sweet.
Eric G.:Now another one that came out this year is kind of a cool new system called Flick FL I C.
Eric G.:So this is kind of the land of buttons.
Eric G.:So these are physical control.
Eric G.:So if you want to control a smart light or something like that, here's the thing you don't have to do is get your phone and grab the app.
Eric G.:So these are little press sensors that you can do.
Eric G.:And so you can.
Eric G.:It's basically got two buttons and you can go through and basically program it to control the things you want.
Eric G.:So you can single press, double press, hold to get all these different things.
Eric G.:Now these do take a little bit of time to come out and.
Eric G.:And you got to learn how to use these things because there's no learning curve to any of these things.
Eric G.:But they're about 50 bucks and I think they're coming out quarter two here in 20, 25.
Eric G.:So I think that is super cool.
Eric G.:Now one of my things, one of the things I love and I've been playing a lot with these things is Akora A Q A R A.
Eric G.:Now these guys have been really coming out with a lot of smart home things that work with matter, Apple, all these different things.
Eric G.:What I like about it, there's a lot of things that you can do with this.
Eric G.:These guys have done switches, cameras, doorbell cameras, climate sensors.
Eric G.:They've come out with hubs.
Eric G.:And so, man, they have come out with some super trick stuff.
Eric G.:One of the ones that I'm going to be testing out here soon is they have.
Eric G.:And I can't wait to touch with, play with some of these things.
Eric G.:So they have their big panel hub, their S1.
Eric G.:So now you've got a hub that you can basically change out a traditional light switch, but it has all your security cameras on it.
Eric G.:They've got all these different doorbell cameras, like the doorbell camera hub, the G410.
Eric G.:That's cool.
Eric G.:Present Sensors, light switches, touchscreen switches.
Eric G.:So they have really kind of got it dialed in.
Eric G.:So impressive stuff.
Eric G.:I'm excited to see what Akora has coming out this year and those guys really do a great job.
Eric G.:They really have expanded out with their matter language controllers.
Eric G.:So I think it's really cool.
Eric G.:There's a lot of new stuff coming out.
Eric G.:So the touchscreen is sweet.
Eric G.:Take a look at these guys.
Eric G.:It is neat stuff.
Eric G.:So I mean it's really going to change how we look at affordable smart home stuff.
Eric G.:So the panel hub that S1 plus is basically, it's a premium ML panel enables centralized control of your entire smart home with one single interface.
Eric G.:So basically you can go through with a, you know, 6.9-inch touchscreen and control everything from locks, thermostats, lights, curtains, you know, all that kind of stuff, which is super cool.
Eric G.:So it doubles as a zigbee hub matter bridge for the Akora Zigbee devices.
Eric G.:So that'll be coming out later this month in Europe and then later this year in the US they've got a touchscreen dial V1 which is a just like you think, it's a rotary dial manages and automates up to two wired light fixtures.
Eric G.:So there's a lot of this different stuff coming out.
Eric G.:So take a look at what A Quora is doing.
Eric G.:Aqara, they are really doing some cool stuff out there and worth a take, you know, worth to take a look when you're dealing with smart home stuff.
Eric G.:There's been a lot of different things out there that have been changing hands.
Eric G.:But I tell you what is, you know, here's the thing.
Eric G.:When you're dealing with smart home stuff, there have been a lot of companies that come out with groundbreaking stuff.
Eric G.:Some of them haven't made it.
Eric G.:But companies like A Quora have really been out there.
Eric G.:They're well funded, they're doing stuff every year I'm switching out some stuff that I tested out that were smaller companies that just couldn't get out there and get to market correctly.
Eric G.:That is not the case with A Quora.
Eric G.:Now here's another one that I think is really smart Cami Vision K A M I they are using AI powered fall detection for homeowners and caregivers with an at home camera.
Eric G.:So this is really cool.
Eric G.:So basically this is the fall detect camera.
Eric G.:So it's the first home security camera available to consumers that combines cutting edge AI powered fall detection technology, 24.
Eric G.:Seven professional monitoring and a direct link to emergency services.
Eric G.:So I think this is awesome.
Eric G.:This it falls in with a 99.5% accuracy.
Eric G.:So this is no joke.
Eric G.:So this is really expanding fault protection for seniors and those with mobility issues.
Eric G.:And it's basically a live system for this.
Eric G.:So this is really cool.
Eric G.:I'm excited for this hassle free setup, vision AI motion tracking.
Eric G.:You've got a live view, two way audio, unlimited user sharing, 24.7fall protection, real time alerts, emergency response and cloud storage.
Eric G.:You know, it's cool.
Eric G.:So Cami Vision currently has FDA registration for this fall detect camera.
Eric G.:So this is really going to make safety for people that need it most.
Eric G.:The foldable tech camera is offered at 99 bucks with a monthly subscription fee of 45.
Eric G.:So anyway, super cool stuff.
Eric G.:Check it out.
Eric G.:Look@cami vision.com so that's K A M I vision.com.
Eric G.:sweet stuff.
Eric G.:I love it.
Eric G.:This is neat stuff that I'm excited about.
Eric G.:All right, guys.
Eric G.:Well, there's not a lot of recalls out there.
Eric G.:There is a one.
Eric G.:I saw that there was a 00 turn John Deere lawnmower with a Kawasaki engine.
Eric G.:Head over to check out the recall on that.
Eric G.:Otherwise it's been a slow recall week.
Eric G.:But that's January for you.
Eric G.:That's how this goes.
Eric G.:All right, well, you guys give some love out there to your friends and family that are in Southern California as they're still dealing with it this week.
Eric G.:Happy midweek.
Eric G.:We got a great show coming up this weekend and we're going to be diving into a couple subjects of how you can protect yourself in case you have a disaster at your house.
Eric G.:And we're going to be talking to two different experts this week.
Eric G.:It's going to be a lot of fun.
Eric G.:We're diving into this head first.
Eric G.:So this is top of mind.
Eric G.:What we what can we do to prepare ourselves?
Eric G.:What can we do right now that takes 15, 20 minutes or an hour to to make life so much easier down the road and increase our chances for dealing with insurance companies and things like that.
Eric G.:So we got some experts back on the show.
Eric G.:I'm Eric G.
Eric G.:If you want to find out more about us, head over to aroundthehouse online.
Eric G.:Com and make sure you follow us on social media and you can message me on both, whether it's on Facebook.
Eric G.:Just look for around the House show or over to aroundthehousonline.com we'll see you this weekend.
Eric G.:Thanks for tuning in to around the house.
Eric G.:Somewhere unseen and undiscovered Anywhere beyond the me life is a love song let's be lovers we're all over the radio Take my hand out Nowhere to go with the rodeo with.
