The staff at Rave Robot got together recently to compile a wish list of home automation gifts that we thought our readers would like to have this 2021 holiday season. Let us know what you think of our list in the comments below.
1. Personal Assistants
There are three big players in the personal assistant space. Google Assistant, Apple Siri, and Alexa. A lot of your decisions here will be based on what devices you already use and what ecosystems you may have already purchased into.
Siri seems to be the best for conversational use, Alexa is likely the most common one currently for devices, and Google Assistant has a lot of potential due to its integration with their search engine. Apple only has a single personal assistant product, HomePod Mini, while the other two have an array of devices across a broad price range to suit many needs. The Echo Dot powered by Alexa and the Google Nest Mini are both small cheap entries into this category.
If you want something with better sound quality, go for the Google Nest for Assistant, and the Echo for Alexa. Apple’s HomePod Mini falls into this category as well, a bit pricier but better quality.
If your goal is something with a screen the Google has you covered with the Nest Hub and Nest Hub max while Amazon offers the Alexa powered Echo Show. These touch screen devices are great as video call stations or in your kitchen for recipe references, videos, or music. For an older relative who has trouble with new technology a dedicated video device that you can set up for them and allow them to receive calls from the grandkids can be an excellent gift, especially if in person visits and travel is still off the table.
2. Smart Thermostats
Next, when deciding on a smart thermostat for my house I read all the reviews and rated the features. For me the ecobee smart thermostat was the ideal. It is easy to install (provided you have the right wires, check their site for compatibility with your HVAC.)
The current model comes with a built in voice recognition system powered by Alexa and a remote sensor. The remote sensors can be positioned in rooms away from the thermostat. You can also buy additional packs of two. These are great because they track if a room is occupied and therefore turn on/off monitoring or just to average the temperature across your house.
If your thermostat is like mine and in a hallway then these become essential. The ecobee doesn’t automatically pick up your habits, you program it with your preferred settings. For me this was essential and a big deciding factor against the Nest because I don’t want my thermostat adjusting my schedule to the off night when my infant wakes me up at 2AM, something the Nest does.
Ecobee also sells a smart light switch that doubles as a room sensor and smart sensors for windows and doors to monitor entrances and exits as well as allow you to pause your comfort settings when a window is opened. If adding a camera to your setup is something you are interested in they have you covered as well. The ecobee thermostat really has become a larger ecosystem since the initial release and the integration with Amazon Alexa as well as other IFTTT options gives you a ton of flexibility when connecting it to your other home automation.
3. Smart Locks and/or Home Security
Smart locks continue to evolve and the newest ones on the market can either be connected to your existing security system or work independently. They are also a great Christmas addition for someone who already has a personal assistant or other smart devices in their home.
The August Wi-Fi, (4th Generations) Smart has the capability of being integrated with most common home assistants.
The ULTRALOQ Smart Lock system does as well. The Yale Assure Smart Lock is the higher priced of the 3 we suggest, but appeals to those who loved the old Nest security systems.
4. Smart Plugs and Switches
There are far too many smart plugs and switches to go into detail here. For my home I selected the TP Link Kasa smart plugs as they are inexpensive and work with Apple, Alexa, and Google Assistant but do not need a home hub to function. They are easy to set up and the mini ones will not block additional outlets. I use these smart plugs on all my printers and they allow for deeper integration with Octoprint so it is an amazing and inexpensive upgrade for a 3D printer enthusiast.
There is also an all weather option if you want to automate those external holiday lights. I have one of these for my exterior lighting and it works great. That it has a small pigtail connector as well means it works really nice with weatherproofed outlets on the exterior without needing a small extension cord. TP Link makes smart light switches for your fixed hardware as well as a smart powerstrip if you have a lot of devices close together.
5. Robot Vacuums
There are many robot vacuums out there, but the model I’m most interested in is the Roomba i6+. I have had 2 robot vacs in my home to date. In both instances I was happy with how well they cleaned. However, I was frustrated with how often I had to empty the dust bins. In a home with multiple pets, they often filled up in the middle of cleaning a room. This frustration must have been in iRobot’s awareness when they developed the unit that empties the dust bin into a larger bag for up to 30 days of constant cleaning. There are many robot cleaners out there including multiple systems with the emptying unit. Some of them are going on sales for the holidays.
If you are looking for a lower-cost alternative without the auto empty feature, I’d check out the Eufy Robovac 30C
6. Resin 3D Printing
If you have read our 12 week review of the Anycubic Photon then you know why we love it. Resin printers are not for everyone but if you need to print small highly detailed models (D&D minis, jewelry molds, dentistry molds) then this is the style of printer for you. Since our review of the Anycubic Photon a number of great consumer friendly printers have hit the market.
Anycubic and Elegoo lead the pack here with a slew of models available. Mono screens are the ideal as they will last longer and have significantly faster print times then the older style full color screens. Build volumes can be similar to the original Anycubic Photon with the Anycubic Photon Mono and the Elegoo Mars 2 Pro printers. For larger build volumes the the Anycubic Photon Mono X and the Elegoo Saturn are the printers to look at.
Keep in mind for resin printing that you really need a dedicated space to deal with the resin and chemicals for clean up. For someone that wants to primarily print highly detailed figures this is where it’s at.
7. Filament 3D Printing
For the 3D printing enthusiast that doesn’t want to deal with resin or that needs more build volume there are almost too many options to choose from. There are tons of cheap 3D printers in this class, all based off the open source design of the Prusa i3. Personally I have a Creality Ender 3, which we’ve written a number of articles about in the past.
In the entry level filament 3D printer space we would suggest the Ender 3, Ender 3 v2, or Elegoo Neptune 2. These printers are all very similar with slight differences in features but all are easy to assemble and maintain. These printers hit far above their price point in quality but if your budget is higher there are some more options.
Prusa Researches Prusa MK3S printer is an excellent choice with exceptional quality and support but it will come at a 4-5x price increase from the above mentioned printers. There is also the option for an advanced user to build their own printer from scratch. I have recently done such with the Voron Design V2.4 printer and there will be a series or articles detailing my adventures coming up soon. Spoiler alert it is an amazing device but not for the novice.
8. Books
Teach yourself some Python with the Python crash course, 2nd edition. This book made learning python into a game as I coded my way into understanding Python. If you have python coding covered, you could take a look at the Home Assistant. This python home automation kit can be used as an alternative or supplement to the commercial home assistants mentioned above.
If you looking for a more escapist read, checkout Asimov’s robot series, one of the most prolific science fiction authors had an awful lot to say about what robots could be and we obviously were impacted by it
9. Amazon Astro Household Robot
Amazon is really going into the home security market with some great ideas. One of which is the Amazon Astro Household Robot. It is an autonomous mobile robot that you can program to monitor the entire floor of your house while you’re out and about. You can send it to go into different rooms. It has a camera and has facial recognition to alert you to strangers in the house. Though it’s on the ground it has a telescopic camera that can allow it to check on things like a looking out the window or on a shelf. It has Amazon’s Alexa installed and can connect with many of the Amazon and Alexa’s smart devices. You can do videoconferencing calls through the device. There are a ton of bells and whistles with this day one Amazon device, but maybe the best thing is that you can have it deliver you a beer.
10. Ring Always Home Flying Indoor Camera
Another Amazon security device this season takes things to the sky with the Ring Always Home Flying Indoor Camera. It’s basically an indoor safe drone with a camera that allows you to monitor any place in your home regardless of ground obstructions. It can be programmed to patrol while you’re out and alert you to things going on in your house. It may not have all the capabilities of the Astro robot, but it has a simplistic clean look and performs its task in a unique way. It evens can dock itself to recharge when it is done patrolling or is low on charge.
11. Sphero BOLT
Get your kids excited about a career in STEM fields with the Sphero BOLT App-Enabled Robot Ball with Programmable Sensors. Kids can learn JavaScript to program the robot. It has “programmable sensors including a compass, light sensor, gyroscope, accelerometer, motor encoders, and infrared communications, along with an eye-catching and animated LED matrix.” You can code and create customized games by JavaScript or drag and drop programming.
12. iFetch Interactive Ball Launchers for Dogs
If you love your pet dog, but maybe you’re just not able to play catch with it like it needs to get its daily exercise. You can now use the iFetch Interactive Ball Launchers for Dogs to handle this chore. It comes in various sizes for different size dogs. It can also launch it to several distances. It may only do this one thing, but I’m sure your pet will thank you for the unlimited fun.
