4 'Smart' Objects That Have Earned the Name Maybe the future is finally here.

We know, we know -- plenty of "smart" objects out there are pretty dumb. (Parents don't need a sensor-laden diaper to know when their baby needs a change; a baby can sound that alarm on her own.) But the industry is evolving. "The problem isn't delivering solutions as much as discovering opportunities," says Nick Jones, an industry analyst at Gartner. Sensors, processors and networking chips are now fairly cheap, and the opportunities for thoughtful entrepreneurs are countless. Says Jones: "This space is more limited by imagination than by technology." These four products hint at our smarter future.

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