Categories
Automotive Sensors/IoT

GStop’s out to stop rear-end collisions

Car safety has become one of the most common goals of crowdfunding projects.

GStop is a connected brake safety light for cars that’s designed to prevent rear-end collisions. The device gets connected to a consumer’s third brake light and, when its sensor detects heavy breaking, it immediately causes rapid flashing to the high-level rear brake light to inform drivers behind the user’s car that they should slow down or stop. GStop also works for bikes, motorcycles and vans.

Categories
Connected Objects Imaging

The bright side of the Luna is filmed in glorious 360°

The advances in imaging technologies have resulted in ever smaller form factors incorporating an increasing amount of functionality. But while established companies are creating insane rigs for 360° video and VR content, Luna is offering the same functionality in a much more petite package.

Luna is a billiard ball-sized sphere containing two HD cameras that are able to create full 360° video without a single blind spot. Its durable, IP68 waterproof shell is super portable and can withstand tough conditions. Embedded Wi-Fi allows it to connect to iOS and Android devices to transfer data, geotag photos and videos and even live stream 360° video or virtual reality content.

Categories
Connected Objects Imaging

Enlaps Tikee enables endless time lapse photography

Time-lapse photography is a popular film and video shooting technique that allows viewers to see a long event completed in just a few seconds, such as the full blooming of a flower or the construction of a building from start to finish. But there are three common obstacles to shooting over an extended period of time with a digital camera: battery space, storage capacity and processing.

patent-claimedEnlaps Tikee is a plug-and-play device that removes all of those constraints and allows unlimited time-lapse photography, according to its Kickstarter campaign. It’s powered by an integrated adjustable photovoltaïc solar cell that allows for long-term time-lapse capability. Once captured, photos are wirelessly transmitted to the cloud, which provides a theoretically endless amount of storage space.

Categories
Lifestyle Technology

TableTalk lets you hear others talking no matter the noise level

It’s often annoying when the noise is so loud in a restaurant or other public gathering spot that it’s hard to hear what companions are saying.

patent-claimedTableTalk is a patented assisted listening system made up of a base station and headsets. The digital signal processor (DSP)-equipped system uses Bluetooth and advanced noise cancellation technology to make conversations clearer regardless of how noisy it is, according to its Kickstarter campaign. TableTalk connects up to five people.

Categories
Television

Cast lets you share your streams with your favorite cast of characters

Google Cast has become a fairly popular way to play –- or “cast” –- video content from mobile devices and computers to TVs wirelessly. After all, it enables users to watch the same content on a big-screen TV that they start viewing on a tiny smartphone screen.

Cast takes the Google Cast concept a couple of steps further, incorporating social media functionality. The new community viewing hub seamlessly connects all the devices in one’s home into one wireless video system, according to its Kickstarter campaign. The standout feature is that it allows users to live stream entertainment that they are watching on their TVs to family and friends via an app for Android and iOS smartphones or tablets, making it kind of like a reverse version of Google Cast. Therefore, if the Cast owner is streaming a movie on a TV via a Netflix account, that person could use Cast to mirror the movie on a friend’s smartphone or tablet even if that friend doesn’t have a Netflix account. That’s in theory anyway because Netflix and other service providers may raise legal objections.

Cast will ship in September 2016 at $299 — barring any delays caused by legal or other issues — although early bird backers can get one via pledges that start at $99. Its makers are out to raise $50,000 by Jan. 9.