You'd be forgiven for assuming a toilet is quite simple enough and doesn't need to be made into another "smart" gadget. But it turns out that we can improve upon our old loo technologies in a variety of ways.
A startup called Shine Bathroom raised $750,000 in seed money to help build and distribute an accessory you attach to an existing toilet to make it a "smart toilet," according to an article in Tech Crunch.
The immediate goal, said the story, is to introduce new ways of cleaning toilets that are more ecologically friendly as well as provide tools to detect and even fix issues in the plumbing.
The long-term goal is to rethink the entire bathroom itself so it puts less strain on our natural resources (thinking way beyond low flush, apparently).
The toilet attachment is battery operated and includes a water vessel, a sensor, and a spraying nozzle that goes inside the tank. A third sensor fitted with an acceleromter is attached to the main line that fills the toilet's tank; the vessel is filled with tap water.
The water passes through a special filter that electrolyzes it via a current, and sprays with every flush to clean and deodorize. Shine says there are no soaps or detergents and that the technique is as powerful as bleach but without harsh chemicals.
The second feature is a bathroom assistant called Sam, which links to the hardware and sensors to identify problems like leaks. Sam can also link with Alexa to clean, check water levels, and other tasks.
