The Life-Changing Products Exhibit, now in its third year, is scheduled to roll into more than 10 major cities in 2017, twice as many as last year. Nearly half the appearances are repeat engagements in cities such as Pittsburgh, Detroit, Baltimore, and Grand Rapids.
Products in the exhibit change each year. Curator Boyce Thompson scours trade shows, magazines, and the Internet to find new products that change the way homeowners experience mundane items such as deadbolts and windows. Products are displayed in an interactive fashion so that attendees can experience them.
This year’s exhibit features a virtual nursery, with a Mimo baby monitor and Nest Cam. The category was one of the most active at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show. The exhibit also includes a Grand Care system for monitoring elderly parents, another category rife with innovation. Show-goers will be able to experiment with Google Home, an inexpensive voice-activated home automation system.
Several products in this year’s exhibit are prototypes, crowd-funded on the Internet and not yet available in the market. They include the Gate deadbolt that not only shows you who is at the door but allows you to open the door remotely; a Triple Plus smart valve that closes automatically when water or gas is present; and a cheeky personal robot, Moorebot, from Pilot Labs that reads bedtime stories to the kids.
Manufacturers are not charged to be part of the exhibit. In many cases, Thompson buys the featured products.
2017 marks the first year the Exhibit will appear west of the Mississippi River, with two shows in California and one in Arizona. More appearances are likely to be added as the year progresses. For the current list of scheduled appearances, check out the interactive map on the appearances page. For booking information, contact Boyce Thompson at boyce.thompson@verizon.net.