They can’t quite measure up to R2D2, but a new array of consumer robots offer all sorts of practical advantages, including companionship, soothing babies back to sleep, playing with pets, folding laundry and making the perfect latte. All 12 of these robot home companions have passed the concept stage into fully-operational products, and many of them are already up for sale.

Cargo Carrier: Gita Bot

From the same company who gave us the Vespa scooter comes Gita, a cargo bot that’ll carry your stuff for you, follow you ask you walk, stop when you do, slow down when necessary and even keep up if you start running. You could use it to haul groceries home from the neighborhood market, deliver packages or as a travel aide; a display screen lets you know when the battery is getting low. One thing that’s not clear is how it manages stairs.

Scooter Bot: Segway Advanced Personal Robot

Recently renamed ‘Loomo,’ the Segway ‘Advanced Personal Robot’ is a cross between a robot companion and a functional scooter, capable of recognizing individuals and following them until it’s needed. It’s able to stay in balance while carrying loads, and its microphones listen for voice commands. Sensors keep it from bumping into objects and help it map your home and other surroundings so it can navigate itself. It’s currently still in development.

Cute Companion: Kuri Home Robot

This 20-inch-tall, 14-pound personal companion robot chirps, blinks and ‘smiles’ in response to your attention, and it’s able to recognize specific people, understand context and surroundings, play music, read books, project video, tell you the weather and perform other useful everyday tasks. The Kuri bot responds to verbal commands and can also be controlled and maintained through a smartphone app.

Pet Entertainer: Rolling Bot by LG

This little bot may not have as much personality as the Kuri, but it’s got some seriously useful functions if you’re the kind of homeowner and/or pet owner who wants to keep a close eye on things while you’re gone. The Rolling Bot by LG is part security system, part pet toy, part smart home gadget with a built-in camera and the capability to roll itself through your home, turning lights on and off, sending you video footage, or entertaining your dogs and cats with dancing and lasers. You can control it through your phone to talk to your pets through it, too.

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Following in the footsteps of the microwave oven, at-home 3D printing in the form of the Poieo3D Printer is ready for prime time, play time and study time!

Designed by families for families, the Poieo3D Printer aims to make an exciting new technology as commonplace and worry-free as microwave ovens and other home appliances we now take for granted. While not quite “Tea, Earl Grey, Hot”, the Poeio3D Printer just might be the closest thing on Earth to home-based Star Trek tech.

Poieo3D is the brainchild of several families in the greater Toronto area who felt inspired by the wealth of opportunities offered by the amazing new world of 3D printing. The founders fervently believe an affordable, easy to use, and child-safe 3D printer should be available to all families and should be a vital component of every home, workplace and classroom.

The Poieo3D Printer isn’t just user-safe, it’s environmentally-friendly too – something you’d expect of a product that’s to be a permanent part of one’s lifestyle. The 3D printing process employs biodegradable print material derived from renewable resources such as corn starch and sugarcane. Unlike petroleum-based plastics, this material doesn’t give off foul-smelling, toxic fumes when the printer is used making it ideal for non-industrial use. Available in a rainbow of colors at a surprisingly low price, the material comes in the form of thin flexible filaments wound on spools for ease of storage.

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Your countertop coffee maker will suddenly look inadequate compared to a monster of a sculptural espresso machine, an elegant steampunk orb and a piston-powered copper coffee maker fit for a villain’s lair. These 13 artistic, high-end and highly unusual coffee and espresso machine designs take the process of brewing your essential daily caffeine intake to the next level and then some.

Sculptural Steampunk Coffee Machine by Dutch Lab

Would you ever guess, seeing it across a room, that this thing is a coffee maker? Dutch Lab created this Gothic-themed steampunk ‘monster’ intending for it to look a bit evil. The AKMA is named for the Korean word for ‘devil,’ and like all of Dutch Lab’s coffee machines, it uses a cold-brew technique relying on the force of gravity and a very particular grind of coffee beans – finer than those used for drip coffee, but coarser than those used for espresso.

Coffee Alarm Clock

Coffee could literally be your alarm clock with the Barisieur, which brews up a single cup of fresh coffee at a designated time. It doesn’t just wake you up with smell, but also with gentle sounds as the process begins and the water starts to boil. It does require a bit of preparation at night, but as the designer notes, it “encourages a ritual before going to sleep, signaling to the body and mind that it is time to unwind and relax.”

Steampunk Glass Balloon Coffee Maker

Another steampunk design looks like something straight out of a scientist’s laboratory. Café Balão by Davide Mateus consists of a pair of hand-blown glass vessels, one of which contains a wand-style heating element to boil the water. This siphoning coffee maker uses vapor pressure and vacuum to produce coffee, with vapor from boiling water in the lower chamber forcing water into the upper chamber containing the coffee grinds. When the heat turns off, gravity pulls the brewed coffee into the lower vessel.

Piston-Powered Espresso Machine

You’ll feel like you’re doing something diabolical when you pull the lever on the Streitman ES3 Espresso Machine, except instead of blowing something up or revealing a secret lair, you’ll be starting the piston-powered process of making a cup of espresso. The sleek wood and copper design forces hot water through ground coffee with a piston, and is available with a dual spout for making more than one cup at a time. It doesn’t come cheap, retailing at $1,700.

Minimalist Single-Serving Brewing Device

Is this the world’s most minimalist coffee maker? The Canadiano is a single-serving brewing device made of wood, which you simply place on top of a mug. Add coffee grounds, pour in some hot water and wait for your brewed coffee to seep through the metal filter. It’s available in three different wood varieties which ‘remember’ your choice of coffee, building up the oils of your specific beans and roast over time.

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Conserving water is something we should all be concerned with – but it isn’t always easy to do when we’ve got clothes and skin to wash. The WashIt is a concept that makes use of grey water, or water that has already been used but still has some useful life left in it.

WashIt, a concept from designer Ahmet Burak Aktas, is a washing machine attached to a shower – or a shower attached to a washing machine. Either way, it allows users to wash themselves while also washing a small load of laundry. Shower water is run through a filtration system and then fed to the washing machine, effectively using the same water for the shower and the laundry.

According to the designer, one of his goals in dreaming up the WashIt was to eliminate the gigantic piles of dirty clothes we are faced with on laundry day. By washing a few pieces at a time whenever a household member jumps into the shower, the WashIt could drastically reduce the amount of time and water spent on laundry.

The concept would definitely be useful in the home, but it could also be appropriate for public settings. Gym locker rooms are an obvious application, but the designer suggests that the WashIt could also be used in airports to help weary travelers refresh during layovers.

Although the intent of the concept is to cut down on water usage, users of the WashIt would definitely have to be careful to avoid inadvertently using more water. It would be easy to justify an extra-long shower for the purpose of creating more grey water – which would, of course, defeat the purpose of a water-saving appliance.

Home appliances like washing machines, refrigerators, irons and blenders are concerned, first and foremost, with practicality. But should we expect more? This year’s Electrolux Design Lab challenge asked international design students to come up with appliances that engage the senses in new and surprising ways, drawing inspiration from ‘experience creators’ like professional chefs and interior designers. The top 30 semi-finalists have been announced, and ten finalists will present their entries in Milan on October 25th, 2012. Here are 5 of the most intriguing entries.

Hurricane by Kuan-ting Ho

The wheel-shaped ‘Hurricane’ by Kuan-ting Ho looks like a cool addition to a space-age tablescape. But it’s much more than just decor – it’s a blender that produces the perfect mixed drink. Browse a programmed library, choose your drink and a recipe will instruct you to insert certain ingredients into a spout on the top of the gadget. The mixer will do the rest.

Treat by Amy Mon-Chu Liu

Tree + Eat = Treat. Amy Mon-Chu Lu’s ‘Treat’ is a tree-shaped device that helps you store food properly and keep track of its freshness using mobile technology. Vacuum-sealed pods serve as food containers that change color to warn you when your food is nearing its use-by date, and they’re actually dropped from the tree when they expire.

Touch by Markus Marks

Throwing on an outfit, only to find that it’s wrinkled and needs to be ironed, is the worst when you’re in a hurry to get out the door – and especially when you’re traveling and don’t have a lot of extra clothes with you. ‘Touch’ by marks Marks ensures that you look presentable at all times. It’s a portable ‘iron’ that uses infrared light rather than heat to smooth the fabric of your clothes while you’re wearing them. It doesn’t even need to be turned on or off – it automatically starts working when it senses the fabric.

Wine Steward by Roman Blahnyka

Wine connoisseurs go through a lot of trouble to be sure that the wine they’re drinking is served at precisely the right temperature, but most casual wine drinkers don’t have the time or inclination to follow suit. That doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy wine to its fullest potential. The Wine Steward by Roman Blahnyka maintains the perfect temperature for any type of wine, also creating a vacuum within the bottle to ensure that your leftover wine never goes to waste.

Memory by WenYao Cal

You like your coffee balanced and fruity, while your partner prefers it dark and intense. This gadget uses your handprint to remember exactly how you like your coffee, so you don’t have to compromise. ‘Memory’ by WenYao Cai scans your hand and then serves your coffee just right – perfect for people who can barely function until they’ve had a cup.