You may own a car that unlocks the door for you as you approach it with the key in your pocket.  How about your house doing the same thing?

CEPro, the trade magazine for the consumer electronics industry, just did a story about a "smart lock" by Goji.  In place of the round brass deadbolt lock we're all familiar with would instead be a circular disc of  a brushed metal finish with a blue LED display.  The Goji Smart Lock is a smartphone-connected electronic security deadbolt with a built-in camera that sends real-time picture alerts and emails for visual confirmation of who is opening the door.

The device replaces a key with a smartphone, activating the deadbolt lock when the homeowner approaches the door. Homeowners can grant day- and time-specific access privileges to people, for example, to visiting friends and family; service professionals such as contractors, house cleaners and dog walkers; and to short-term renters who use services such as Airbnb. Goji digital keys are encrypted using bank-level encryption and cannot be transferred, stolen or copied like a mechanical key can. In case the homeowner misplaces his phone, Goji offers 24/7 customer service to provide assistance.

To learn more about additional features and safeguards, you will want to check out their brief video that you can access by clicking here.

Homeowners can install it themselves in the place of an existing deadbolt and includes four digital keys and two conventional keys. Programmable fobs are also available.

Anyone who's ever had a newborn sent to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) knows all too well the anxiety that goes along with such an event.  For the mother in particular, her strong natural urge to bond with her baby is interrupted and limited by her baby's need for specialized medical attention.

One of the most basic desires for the mother is to be able to reassure her baby that she is not far away.  But in NICU, that can be extremely difficult to do.  She knows her baby is in a totally foreign surrounding absent of anything to remind her child of his or her mother.  Unless the hospital is equipped to house mother and child together there will be a great deal of time in which they are separated.  But perhaps technology can help!

Mommy’s Hear™ is a device designed to allow mothers to both see and speak to her baby while in NICU.  With technology borrowed from remote access security systems, this device is located right at the baby's incubator so the parents and family members can see their infant from any remote device like a smart phone or iPad.  This is especially vital in the case of long-term NICU care as with infants born prematurely, for example.

When the parents can't be at the hospital such as while caring for the baby's siblings, the family can talk to their infant at any time, night or day, via the phone or iPad--much like using Skype or FaceTime.  Telling baby "good night," singing a lullaby, or just watching baby awaken in the morning can be so reassuring to newborn and parent alike.

This ability to communicate directly is significant, as recent studies show the introduction of sounds like the mother’s voice reduces cardio-respiratory events common to premature infants.  Not only that, but it can aid in the child’s development while promoting bonding when parents can’t be at the hospital.  And should a family member be a little "under the weather," they can still see and talk to their baby without risking exposing their newborn to infection.