Your bathroom could soon be a 'smart bathroom' thanks to Kohler
Smart homes are all the rage these days, but what about smart bathrooms?
Kohler is trying to make them the next big thing. The kitchen and bath product company has announced a number of smart bathroom products at CES 2018.
You can set up and control all of these products with Kohler's app for iOS and Android, KOHLER Konnect. The app, powered by the Microsoft Azure Cloud Platform, supports voice commands and hands-free motion control. So you'll no longer have to press any buttons to turn your appliances on and off -- yelling from the toilet will suffice.
Here are the bathroom products that Koehler plans to smarten up.
Your Mirror
Koehler's biggest new release is the Verdera Voice Lighted Mirror, the first Amazon Alexa-enabled mirror.
Verdera is surrounded by what the company claims are "highly efficient LED lights," which you can turn on and off, raise and dim, or switch to and from the brighter "makeup mode," with your voice.
It's also equipped with a night light that will turn on when it senses you stumbling into the bathroom at night. The mirror is available in three sizes: 24", 34", or 40".
Most importantly, Verdera comes equipped with Alexa's tens of thousands of skills. This means you can listen to the morning news, check the weather or your emails, or listen to music while getting ready in the morning. If you were already doing that, you can now do it while clearing up valuable space that an Echo or Google Home Mini would take up.
You'll be able to buy Verdera in March. Its price is not yet listed.
Your Bathtub
Kohler's DTV+ smart showering system aims to turn your shower from a routine into an experience. DTV+ was released in 2015, but can now be integrated with KOHLER Konnect.
With just your voice, you can use DTV+ to adjust your water temperature, change shower head pressure, play music, adjust the lighting, and turn the shower on and off (or set it to do so automatically).
In KOHLER Konnect, you can also set your ideal bath's temperature and depth. Kohler's upcoming PerfectFill kit will then fill your bathtub to your specifications automatically. All you have to do is say "Start my bath."
PerfectFill and the connected version of DTV+ will launch later this year. The DTV+ currently costs $1059.70.
Your Toilet
Kohler's Numi is an intelligent toilet equipped with colored lighting, music functionality, a heated seat, and a foot warmer.
You can control each of these settings to your specifications through KOHLER Konnect, voice command, or motion.
Kohler's PureWarmth toilet seat will heat your behind as you do your business. And with the company's Touchless Flush technology, you can flush via motion sensor, so you'll no longer have to touch that -- let's be honest -- disgusting handle.
Numi is around $6300 (prices vary by retailer).
Follow Mashable's coverage of CES 2018 for more exciting smart home announcements.
Monica wrote for Mashable's Tech section with a focus on retail, internet of things, and the intersections of technology and social justice. She holds a degree in creative writing from Brown University, and has previously written for Dow Jones Media, the New York Post, Yahoo Finance, and others. In her free time, she can be found attempting to cook Asian food, buying board games, and looking for new hobbies.
