Month: April 2016

Categories
Camping Furniture

The Lepaq air bag realizes inflated claims of relaxation

When spring and summer finally hits and the parks, rivers, and beaches call, there’s nothing better than spending the day hanging around with friends and family to best take it all in. What doesn’t help is the idea of lugging around different types of foldable, sometimes heavy chairs for comfort. People could sit on blankets and towels, but that’s never as comfortable.

Inspired to create a better alternative, the team behind the Lepaq set out to create a solution — and they have. To the untrained eye, the Lepaq almost looks like a laundry bag but after a simple wave in the air, it immediately fills out to. Close it up, and it becomes a large airbag that three adults can comfortably rest on for six hours at a time — no inflation necessary.

Continue reading “The Lepaq air bag realizes inflated claims of relaxation”
Categories
Connected Objects Sleep

Mooring connected mattress pad gets you through the night to a more comfy morning

Most take for granted how easy it is to drift off but sometimes it’s harder than sleeping on a log. When considering the complicated, intricate dance of the many factors involved to do so — temperature, comfort, positioning, to name a few — it’s easy to see how so many people are affected by trouble sleeping.

The Shanghai team at Mirahome wants to help with its Mooring, a smart sleep system that uses predictive learning technology to optimize sleep cycles and improve sleep quality. Mooring takes the form of a 100% polyester, ultralight thermal mattress pad equipped with technology that enables it to monitor things like heart rate, breathing rate, and movement to generate sleep profiles over time.

Continue reading “Mooring connected mattress pad gets you through the night to a more comfy morning”
Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Television

WeKast streaming stick lets all devices stream to your TV

Streaming content from a computer, smartphone or tablet to a large screen is a common way to make presentations now in the worlds of business and education. However, there is all too often a technical problem, such as the inability to get a wireless connection, that gets in the way.

WeKast is a pocket-sized dongle that plugs into any HDMI or VGA port and makes it simple to stream a presentation from a mobile device to a TV, projector screen or other display.

Continue reading “WeKast streaming stick lets all devices stream to your TV”
Categories
Connected Objects Fitness

LiftUp gives strength training a lift

Strength training is healthy, but it’s often time-consuming and typically requires people to join a gym, which can be costly and also inconvenient.

LiftUp is a smart home strength training product that uses connected resistance bands. It automatically tracks workouts and analyzes progress made on fitness goals. Users just select a workout and attach one or more resistance bands to work out. LiftUp comes with multiple, interchangeable band strengths. The resistance bands can be used to replicate any movement done with dumbbells, barbells and weight machines.

Continue reading “LiftUp gives strength training a lift”
Categories
Music Technology

The Lumen electronic handpan lets percussionists jam affordably

It’s not unusual to see handpans, a relatively newer form of percussion instrument, sell from the $2,000 range to over $10,000. Their rarity and handmade nature contributes to this price tag, with the result being a beautiful sound unlike any other. Unfortunately, that price tag prevents many from enjoying its unique nature.

In order to make the experience of playing a handpan more accessible, Guy Jackson created the Lumen, an electro-acoustic percussion instrument in the form of a traditional handpan. It combines the same basic form of a handpan with velocity sensitivity, a high-quality built-in speaker, the ability to store a wide variety of sound samples, and the ability to change scales and keys while playing.

All this together offers a diverse musical experience at a more cost effective price of $699. The Lumen is slated to ship in February 2017 should its Indiegogo campaign raise $70,000 by May 13th, 2016.

The previously covered Oval is everything the Lumen is and much more, with the ability to upload custom sounds and a companion app, for example, that opens up the handpan playing experience — and does so at a more affordable price.

Categories
Personal Transportation

The Nimble Urban Scooter carries you and your burden

Every day, people put way too much weight on their shoulders and backs without realizing it, leading to discomfort and possible pain later on in life. Outside of some sort of clunky trolley, there isn’t much that can be done about it. At least, that was the case until the Nimble Urban Scooter came along.

The follow-up to the Nimble Scooter Classic, the Nimble Urban Scooter is a slimmed down version of its predecessor that focuses on a more agile ride while retaining the versatility of carrying a wide array of stuff. Its front loading cargo rack features custom made bungee straps to secure all sorts of boxes — even fitting bike accessories — while its linked steering system lets riders perform sharp turns safely.

Continue reading “The Nimble Urban Scooter carries you and your burden”
Categories
Automotive Connected Objects

TrapTap keeps you updated on speed traps while keeping your eye on the road

Speed traps have long been the bane of drivers’ existence, especially when traveling on unfamiliar roads while on vacation or on business. More recently, red light cameras and school zones with cameras that record speeding have only made driving even more frustrating for some people.

TrapTap is a small, disc-shaped dashboard-mounted device that alerts drivers of speed traps, red light cameras and school zones to decrease the chances of getting fined. The device uses Bluetooth Low-energy (BLE) to communicate with Android and iOS smartphones via a free app and GPS mapping software on the phone.

Continue reading “TrapTap keeps you updated on speed traps while keeping your eye on the road”
Categories
Connected Objects Health and Wellness

Cor becomes core to your health tracking efforts

Health-tracking devices are becoming increasingly popular. But there is one element of the equation that is typically missing from most of them: the ability to actually gauge what’s going on in the blood.

patent-claimedCor is a consumer blood analyzer that makes it fast and simple for people to get an in-depth understanding of what what’s going on inside the body at any time. Users just have to press the Cor Cartridge anywhere against their arm to get a blood sample. Unlike getting blood drawn at a doctor’s office, Cor uses a fine needle that takes a surface-level blood sample, so it’s faster and promises to be completely painless.

Continue reading “Cor becomes core to your health tracking efforts”
Categories
Connected Objects

Rocketbook Wave sticks its crowdfunding campaign in the microwave

Last year’s Rocketbook Wave was an undeniable hit. The Indiegogo managed to raise over $1,000,000 for their reusable, cloud-connected notebook and for good reason: prodigious scribblers love the idea of a reusable notebook that offsets that small pang of guilt when a loved tome bites the dust.

Now, the Rocketbook team is back peddling their prized success again — but this time on Kickstarter. The product itself remains exactly that same, though: a series of pages that utilize a matrix of invisible dots that allow users later to take photos of their thoughts and ideas.

Continue reading “Rocketbook Wave sticks its crowdfunding campaign in the microwave”
Categories
Connected Objects Fitness

The FORM Lifting smart device ensures you grit for those gains

For those fanatical about weightlifting, it’s a good time to be alive. Choice abounds: programs like CrossFit give people the space to safely practice, compete and see results among peers while those looking to save cash can brush up on the fundamentals of lifting or learn more of its advanced points with a few searches on YouTube.

No matter which camp someone might find themselves, one difficulty when training is generating metrics that can help improve future performance. Scott Mahr’s FORM Lifting system looks to help in this regard.

Continue reading “The FORM Lifting smart device ensures you grit for those gains”