Back in November, I posted about Japanese Micro-apartments and how they might offer the feeling of space confinement on long-voyage space vessels. On a happier note, Spanish architecture firm Elii takes a tiny (620 square feet) living space and redesigns it to offer useful elements such as hidden storage, disappearing eating space and maximal sunlight penetration.

Suitable Technologies has announced a telepresence robot, the Beam+, for just under $2000 (pre-order for $995). The device offers a 10-inch screen using two cameras and 4 microphones for video teleconferencing, which is build onto a stalk and moved about by a three wheeled based controlled by the "visitor" through an application on the their end.

Back at Apple's 2013 event, they mentioned iBeacon as part of their new upgrades. This technology uses Bluetooth Low Energy to alert your phone when it comes within range of a beacon - a small, low-powered device used to identify a place. Sneaky Apple not only announced a major competitor to NFC (Near Field Communiction), they also announced that some of their products (and others) have built in beacon functionality and have had them for some time. With the rollout of iOS 7 and OS X 10.9, there are suddenly tens of millions of iBeacon ready devices which can both seek or offer location awareness.

Why is this important? Bluetooth low energy technology currently offers a range of 50 meters/160 feet using a trickle of energy (less than 15 milliamps according to this page). Your phone is suddenly able to identify interesting or even necessary locations within that range with very little impact on the device itself. This is a major step towards the Internet of Things and, as with most leaps forward, will have both positive and negative impacts on our lives and privacy.