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Today our homes are filled with gadgets and gizmos designed to make our lives easier and, in 2015, things are set to get even more high-tech. Here, AMANDA CABLE tries out some of the inventions hoping to change the way we live.

The virtual babysitter is a lifesaver - if only it could do the washing up and the ironing 

A VIRTUAL BABYSITTER 

Mother, £249.99, Firebox.com

This small, white, doll-shaped hub sits in your living room while four key-fob sized sensors send information straight back to it.

Fix a sensor onto your child's school bag and when they arrive home from school it will automatically text or email to let you know they are safe. Or you can clip a toothbrush into the sensor so it records the time the children spend cleaning their teeth.

Pop a sensor onto the side of a glass and it monitors how much water the children are drinking, or onto the side of a coffee mug to remind you when you've had enough daily caffeine.

It will also monitor the amount of steps you take each day, the calories you burn during your daily chores and even your hours of sleep.

VERDICT: My children always forget to text when they arrive home, so it's great to have a message on my phone from 'Mother' telling me that Ruby is back after orchestra practice with a sensor on her schoolbag.

The sensors turn toothbrushing into an Olympic sport — as the children put their brushes into the sensor, clean their teeth and then race downstairs to see who came 'top'.

A great mother's help, just a shame it can't do the washing and ironing. 9/10

Unfortunately the glove, pictured, has very poor sound quality so you end up shouting loudly 

MAKE CALLS ON YOUR GLOVE 

£49.99, Firebox.com

These woolly gloves wirelessly sync to your smartphone. There's a speaker hidden in the thumb and a microphone in the little finger, meaning you can put your thumb beside your ear and your little finger in front of your mouth to talk — holding your hand like an imaginary phone.

A control panel on the wrist cuff lets you accept and end calls.

VERDICT: Being able to chat without holding a clunky iPhone is very useful, especially when walking the dog, but the sound quality is pretty poor and you end up shouting. The big downside is just how daft you feel talking into your gloves and pretending to hold an invisible phone. 4/10

In just 40 minutes the robo-mop, pictured, cleaned my wooden floors without trailing water across my rug

THE ROBO-MOP

Scooba 450 floor-scrubbing robot mop, £649.99, irobot.co.uk

Sick of cleaning your floors with a mop and soapy water-filled bucket? How about a robotic mop that does the whole backbreaking process for you — while cleaning up 99.3 per cent of bacteria in the process?

This clever little robot is the size of a plate and uses sensors to stop it bashing into furniture or falling downstairs. It slowly sweeps and puts water on your floor then retraces the journey using a scrubbing brush on its undercarriage.

Finally, it dries the floor and returns to its docking station for a re-charge. All you have to do is empty the dirty water from the tank.

VERDICT: When I had floorboards laid throughout our ground floor, I didn't appreciate the hours I would spend mopping up or the mess that two dogs and three children make. I didn't think this little robot — which stands just 9.1cm (3.5in) high and looks more like a CD player — could possibly replace a mop and elbow grease. I was worried it would trail water across my Iranian rug, but the clever sensors means it works around them.

Just 40 minutes later and my muddy floorboards look perfect. 9/10

The iPong, pictured, allows you to diffuse different scents wherever you go, but avoid the strawberry

WAKE UP TO THE iPONG

Scentee smartphone aroma diffuser, £29.99, Firebox.com

Want to wake up to the smell of coffee wafting from your iPhone? This white, egg-shaped scent diffuser (smaller than the palm of your hand) plugs straight into your phone and allows you to pre-programme five scents: lavender, strawberry, rosemary, rose or coffee.

Download the app, and you can pre-set a smell to be diffused when your alarm goes off, or an email arrives.

VERDICT: This is like high-tech Febreze! On a crowded and smelly bus, I discreetly pressed the button on my phone for a quick puff of lavender. 

However the strawberry smell I released later in the day was sickly and overpowering and made my husband choke.

 Fun if you pick the right whiff. 5/10

The musical pillow, pictured, makes your head feel far too hot, but the twins begged to use it

THE MUSICAL PILLOW 

Hoodie wired pillowcase, Firebox.com, £24.99

A fleecy pillow case fits over your usual pillow and instantly wires you for sound. You put your head inside the integrated hoodie, then pop the built-in earplugs in. Slip your phone or MP3 player in the pocket beside the pillow, and drift off to your favourite sounds.

VERDICT: You don't have to be a teenager to use this — though it probably helps! My head felt far too hot in the pillow, but my 13-year-old twins Charlie and Archie begged to go to bed so they could use the 'coolest pillow ever'.

Worth it just to get the kids to bed. 7/10

The aiwheel, pictured, is fun, but won't get you fit

ALL-TERRAIN UNICYCLE

Airwheel Q5, £699, yesss.co.uk

Self-balancing and self-propelling, you simply stand upright on the footplates on either side of the single wheel.

You can't sit down like normal unicycles, but the good news is that this travels up to 14mph and you don't need to pedal at all — it does it all for you. 

It has a carry-handle and at 25lb, you can pick it up and take it onto a train or into the office.

VERDICT: I had never seen a look of admiration on my children's faces — until I managed to stay upright on this electric unicycle for 30 seconds on my first attempt.

It is easy to use.

Press and hold down the power button, step onto the unicycle and lean forward to go forward, back to reverse or twist your body in whatever direction you wish to turn.

Devotees claim these are more fun than skateboards, and they can tackle rough pavements, snow and kerbs.

Certain to catch on among the cool skater brigade — but not so great for middle-aged mums nipping to the supermarket.

Fun, but it won't get you fit. 7/10

This app enabled me to catch my two dogs breaking into a cupboard and stealing biscuits

SPY ON FIDO 

Motorola Scout 83 pet monitoring camera, £99.99, argos.co.uk

Ever wondered what Fido does when you go for work? Leave this small camera at home and use your phone or computer at work to change angles or zoom in on your dog from miles away.

The camera will alert you to sound, movement or temperature changes — and can even stream live images of your pet to your computer while you work. You can use two-way audio to talk to your dog, and even watch them at night with the infra-red night-vision mode.

VERDICT: I've always tried to imagine what my dogs Dylan and Delilah, a cockerpoo and goldendoodle, get up to when I am out. 

I set up the small, black, round camera unit — which resembles a deep-sea diver's helmet — on the kitchen table.

I download the app which turns my iPhone into a remote control, meaning I can angle the camera for a clearer view.

Two hours later, while visiting a friend who lives ten miles away, I click on just in time to see a crystal-clear image of Dylan and Delilah opening the larder door with their noses, and stealing some biscuits. Perfect for keeping an eye on troublesome pets. 8/10

It looks like a large iPad and has six settings and is perfect for someone who has a small kitchen 

THE GO-ANYWHERE HOB 

Smart touch induction hob, Lakeland, £99.99

This hob looks just like a large iPad, but one touch of the digital display screen and it instantly heats, ready to boil, simmer, warm or fry one single pan. There's a choice of six settings — from 'keep warm,' 'simmer' 'hotpot' 'boil' 'keep' and 'pan fry' with temperatures ranging from 70 to 240 C. At just 31cm x 39cm (12in x 15in), it sits on your tabletop and can be pre-programmed or set to a timer.

VERDICT: Perfect if you need an extra boiling plate, and fancy a slim, easy to store hob. I filled a saucepan with water and new potatoes, set the hob onto 'boil' and it bubbled within four minutes.

I turned the temperature on the touchscreen down to 'simmer' and my handy little hob responded instantly. Great if you are pushed for space or time.

Ideal for small kitchens. 8/10

The only problem with this invention is that you will never know where you left your keys or glasses

TIPPLE IN YOUR HANDBAG

thepresentfinder.co.uk £29.99

Pop the designer-looking handbag over your arm, and nobody will guess that it is made of cardboard and contains just wine — red, rose or, in my case, a delicious Chardonnay. When you need to refill your drink, you turn a small tap on the side and it pours your wine into the glass for an instant top-up!

VERDICT: You'll never have to worry about spilling your drink again – although I didn't know where to put my car keys and glasses!

Wacky, but hardly practical. 5/10