This is an F.Y.I. regarding the AEC industry, but I thought some technical types would appreciate it, too! Maybe one day, they'll include an RF link so one can monitor the activities... 
Finally, a toilet bowl that cleans itself
Monday, February 9, 2004
The 42nd annual NARI Home Improvement Show, held at the Wisconsin State Fair Park this weekend, offered homeowners plenty of remodeling and renovation ideas. Vendors were on hand to display everything from siding and kitchen cabinets to screened-in patios and furnaces. And one really expensive toilet that comes with a heated seat, a bidet-type cleaning feature and its own remote control. A booth run by Toto, a plumbing manufacturer that was started in Japan more than 100 years ago and still embraces technology-driven concepts, drew a steady stream of visitors eager to check out its state-of-the art Neorest toilet. Dan Tungett, the company's director of sales for the central region, took a few minutes away from showing curious folks the toilet's impressive list of features Sunday to talk to Journal Sentinel reporter Kelly Wells.
Q. Why the Neorest?
A. It's the first toilet that interacts with you. You do not have to touch this toilet to experience it. As you approach it, it actually notices that you're there. The lid raises, and it will expose a heated seat. You can control the temperature of the seat. It also washes you, it dries you and, actually, if you forget to flush and you walk away, it will flush by itself, and the lid will close by itself. It cleans itself -- there's a rinse cycle. Also, all the while you're sitting down, there's a deodorizing fan that's actually pulling odors out of the bowl, sending it through a fan and dispensing clean air into the room.
Q. Why would people need this?
A. Right now, what we're trying to do, is we're trying to establish the need to the American consumer. We're trying to let demanding consumers know that this type of hygiene is available. Paper is old-school. You really want to experience clean, you need to use water.
Q. How much is it?
A. The Neorest is a $5,000 list-price toilet.
Q. Any idea how many of these you've sold?
A. We sell about 7,000 a month worldwide. In the U.S., we're about up to 500 per month. It's a brand-new product; it hit the market 90 days ago.
Q. Who is the typical buyer?
A. This is for somebody who's got everything. There's a gentleman out in the Napa Valley in California who put 23 of them in his house -- at $5,000 a pop, you figure he's got over a hundred grand worth of toilets in his house.
Finally, a toilet bowl that cleans itself
Monday, February 9, 2004
The 42nd annual NARI Home Improvement Show, held at the Wisconsin State Fair Park this weekend, offered homeowners plenty of remodeling and renovation ideas. Vendors were on hand to display everything from siding and kitchen cabinets to screened-in patios and furnaces. And one really expensive toilet that comes with a heated seat, a bidet-type cleaning feature and its own remote control. A booth run by Toto, a plumbing manufacturer that was started in Japan more than 100 years ago and still embraces technology-driven concepts, drew a steady stream of visitors eager to check out its state-of-the art Neorest toilet. Dan Tungett, the company's director of sales for the central region, took a few minutes away from showing curious folks the toilet's impressive list of features Sunday to talk to Journal Sentinel reporter Kelly Wells.
Q. Why the Neorest?
A. It's the first toilet that interacts with you. You do not have to touch this toilet to experience it. As you approach it, it actually notices that you're there. The lid raises, and it will expose a heated seat. You can control the temperature of the seat. It also washes you, it dries you and, actually, if you forget to flush and you walk away, it will flush by itself, and the lid will close by itself. It cleans itself -- there's a rinse cycle. Also, all the while you're sitting down, there's a deodorizing fan that's actually pulling odors out of the bowl, sending it through a fan and dispensing clean air into the room.
Q. Why would people need this?
A. Right now, what we're trying to do, is we're trying to establish the need to the American consumer. We're trying to let demanding consumers know that this type of hygiene is available. Paper is old-school. You really want to experience clean, you need to use water.
Q. How much is it?
A. The Neorest is a $5,000 list-price toilet.
Q. Any idea how many of these you've sold?
A. We sell about 7,000 a month worldwide. In the U.S., we're about up to 500 per month. It's a brand-new product; it hit the market 90 days ago.
Q. Who is the typical buyer?
A. This is for somebody who's got everything. There's a gentleman out in the Napa Valley in California who put 23 of them in his house -- at $5,000 a pop, you figure he's got over a hundred grand worth of toilets in his house.
