• Smart holiday gift guide: 5 products to express appreciation

    Every day is a good day to give gifts, but these ideas can help your clients, colleagues, and collaborators end the year on a high note.
    Nov. 15, 2022
    4 min read
    courtesy of Moleskine
    Smart Writing Set by Moleskine and MyScript
    Smart Writing Set by Moleskine and MyScript

    The end of year is near, which means one more opportunity to show appreciation to your colleagues, customers, and collaborators before changing the calendar. Below are five smart gift ideas to help make life a tad easier for the people you appreciate—and to help you tackle your to-do list. Note: Prices listed are subject to change; SBT is not affiliated with any of the listed products.

    HidrateSpark Pro (from $64.99), HidrateSpark

    Get your recommended ounces of water with help from HidrateSpark Pro’s smart water bottle. The LED-illuminated, smart sensor base of the insulated stainless steel vessel glows when the time has come to drink; the sensor also tracks intake via Bluetooth. Change the color combination of your bottle’s glow through a companion app, which also allows you to compete with friends on drinking habits and locate the bottle when it invariably rolls under the desk. Available in 17- to 32-ounces sizes, with a chug or straw lid option, and in five bottle colors. hidratespark.com

    Heated Hoodie (from $149), Jacket (from $199), or Vest (from $149), Robert Bosch Tool Corp.

    During the cold months, outdoor enthusiasts and workers in the field can find warmth in Bosch’s line of battery heated workwear, which includes a hoodie, jacket (shown), and vest. Designed with lightweight, wind- and water-resistant polyester, each article includes three warming zones strategically located in the chest and lower back that can be adjusted in heat level; a 12-volt battery heat source; and a 2.1-amp power adapter for charging mobile devices and tablets. Machine-washable and dryer safe. Available in a range of sizes. boschtools.com

    Carta ($279) and Cubit ($119), Plott

    For outdoor projects of varying scale, Carta is a handheld, rolling, digital tool that measures and maps the path you walk. Users can take or select a background or satellite image, mark points of interest along the route, annotate the resulting plot, and share it with others. The device has a 12"-diameter wheel, kickstand, and phone holder. Wheel around curbs, buildings, and site perimeters and obtain the information you need to estimate, design, and quote your project.

    In lieu of alternating between taking and recording measurements manually with a tape, take digital measurements that transmit to the mobile Lets Plott app in real-time with Cubit. Capture height and length with one click and use the measuring wheel for irregular objects. Through augmented reality, you can map your indoor projects at scale and in context. You can also virtually design and test layouts and let Cubit, with a laser accuracy of 1/8” (4mm), guide you to the specific locations, such as nailing spot, via the chosen coordinates. letsplott.com

    Moleskine Smart Writing Set ($279), Moleskine and MyScript

    This Smart Writing Set combines the tactile ease of handwriting on Moleskine’s iconic ivory, ruled, and FSC-certified paper with the convenient, real-time transfer of notes, sketches, and scribbles into a digital copy that can shared, archived, and edited. The product includes a large Smart Notebook, a Smart Pen, a magnetic charger, one pen tip ink refill, and the Notes App, which converts handwriting into type and allows users to digitally colorize their drawings with help from MyScript’s AI-driven handwriting recognition technology. All content remains digitally editable and the handwriting is searchable. moleskine.com

    Awair Element ($299), Awair

    For the recent uptick in attention to air quality, Awair Element provides a compact, smart solution. Made for homes (an office version is available), this stand-alone, Wi-Fi connected device provides real-time insight on temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, VOCs, and fine dust (PM2.5) levels for indoor spaces up to 1,000 square feet. Information about each metric or an aggregate Awair score, indicating overall air-quality status, can display visually on the unit or be accessed via a companion app. Awair can be integrated with Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and IFTTT. Awair 2nd Edition replaces Element’s plastic casing with North American walnut timber. getawair.com

    For more news, projects, and profiles in the smart buildings ecosystem, subscribe to the SBT newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

    About the Author

    Email

    Wanda Lau

    Editorial Director

    Wanda Lau is the editorial director of Smart Buildings Technology, LEDs Magazine, and Architectural SSL. She is an award-winning editor, writer, and podcaster whose work appears in several publications, including Architectural Lighting and Architect, where she was most recently the executive editor. In 2021, she was named one of Folio: and AdMonsters' Top Women in Media, in the DEI Champions category. Along with working a decade in the architecture, engineering, and construction industry, she holds a B.S. in civil engineering from Michigan State University, an S.M. in building technology from MIT, and an M.A. in journalism from Syracuse University.

    Sign up for our Newsletter
    Get the latest news and updates.

    Related

    Turning Environmental Regulatory Challenges into Opportunities
    Arlington Transit’s New Facility Accelerates Battery Electric Bus Fleet, Zero-Emissions Goal

    Voice Your Opinion!

    To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Buildings, create an account today!