Category: Home

Categories
Home Sensors/IoT

Ramos uses a Bluetooth beacon to coax your butt from the bed

Getting up in the morning for some is a delight and for others means terror. Getting up on the wrong side of the bed means a day full of disappointment. Sometimes the way we get up can determine the course of the day.

Ramos is an alarm clock that not only gets you out of bed, but does so the right way. The alarm consists of three parts, first the clock by the side of the bed, a Bluetooth sensor, and your smartphone. Upon waking up, the user must get out of bed and bring their smartphone close to the sensor. Distances can be customized, but most choose to put the sensor in the bathroom or kitchen next to the coffeepot. For heavy sleepers, Ramos requires a four digit code to really make them think.

The accompanying smartphone app allows for multiple alarms, snooze limits, multiple users, and more. A courtesy mode makes one initial beep, but then shuts up to consider letting others sleep. The user can also play their own music with or without a gradual loudness mode to make waking up a little more smooth. With a USB port, you can charge your smartphone so it can stay attached to the alarm and the alarm runs on battery when unplugged, so it can never be tricked.

Ramos has really thought of everything in terms of waking up. The movable sensor makes it easy to prepare for different kinds of days. Its various modes consider the comfort of bedfellows and family members. Best of all, it doesn’t wake you up with a greased pig-like chase around the room like some unconventional alarms do. For backers who want to get up in the morning without feeling like committing murders, try Ramos for a donation of $99 in either white or black for estimated delivery in May 2015. Ramos is hoping to raise $100,000 on Kickstarter.

Categories
Home

Pizza Bed: is it real or is it a pizza dream?

This product gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “rolling in dough.” Okay, bad puns aside (for the moment), pizza lovers and those with an eccentric sense of humor can’t help but love the idea of a comfort food…er…comforter set that looks like pizza. Too bad the creator of Pizza Bed didn’t think of making it take on the smell and feel of pizza too. Imagine not only the look, but even the smell of pizza wafting through one’s bedroom with sauce and cheese oozing between one’s weary toes. It would be enough to make a person have pizza dreams! Or maybe that was thought about and then considered to be a little too over the top.

Amused backers may also enjoy checking out the, ShotGunR, Wobbly Baron chair, Fan-Hand and Raptor football campaigns. This campaign seeks to raise $125,848. Early bird backers get a bed set complete with fitted sheet, flat sheet, duvet cover and two standard sized pillowcases for $75 with an expected delivery of February 2015.

Categories
Home Nutrition/Hydration

Oasis Water Tanks can hide under your bed, behind couch

When a natural disaster such as a severe storm or blizzard are reported as brewing, water is one of the first things that flies off the shelves in a grocery store. Most people who know about emergency preparedness recommend having at least one gallon of water per day per person available. If one has a family, one of the best ways to do that is with a water tank such as Oasis Water Tanks. This product is touted as only needing five inches of storage space, but it holds 20 gallons of water. Recommended places to put this tank include behind a couch or under a bed.

Hopefully, the thing will never spring a leak. Maybe a garage or basement that has a built in storm drain might be a better option. Interested backers might also be interested in the Kalipak, Recon 6 Watch, Survivor Signal Rescue Panel, and Rhino Laces campaigns.  This campaign seeks to raise $15,000. Early bird backers get one product for $100 with an expected delivery of February 2015.

Categories
Home

Water Hero offers remote valve shutoff to avoid costly floods

Flooding and water damage from a leaking or burst pipe can be one of the most expensive home repairs. Water Hero offers users the ability to track what’s happening in their home via a Wi-Fi cloud-connected smartphone system and app. Water Hero can be self-installed, alerted about the amount of time the user will be away from home, and will automatically shut off the water if that amount of time gets exceeded or if a leak is detected. Then it sends the user a text. The user can also set and control the system while away from home.

Other nice features include a warning system for frozen pipes, an alert for when the dehumidifier may need to be turned on, and a battery backup. Though the Water Hero only works with indoor municipal water meters, there is an outdoor Water Hero in the works. For anyone who has come home to a flooded home, this product offers huge peace of mind. This campaign seeks to raise $54,000.  For $199, backers get one product with an expected delivery of November 2015.

Categories
Home Technology

The Remote Snow Plow and Blower gets the yearly snowpocalypse under control

Winter is a drag. If people aren’t sad from the darkness and cold winds howling outdoors, the constant snow storms will frustrate them on the mornings when their car is buried under several feet of snow. Having to wake up early in the morning and gear up only to dig out a driveway or a parked car makes most wish they had a robot to do it for them. Luckily, those desperate pleas were answered by the folks at SuperDroid Robots and have resulted in a monster of a solutions.

The company’s Remote Snow Plow and Snow Blower are two 3/16 thick welded aluminum tanks that run 4HP motors that treat snow in exactly the same way people feel towards it during those blustery winter mornings. RC controllers allow users to stay inside and wrapped up in cozy, warm blankets while the plow or the blower goes to town on the snow outside. No matter which way backers choose to deal with the snow outside, they can begin the day assured that their feet won’t completely freeze over even before their morning walk. An unassembled Snow Plow includes all of the components for self-assembly and goes for $5,700, while an unassembled Snow Blower goes for $6,200. A fully assembled Snow Plow or Blower goes for $7,200 or $8,500, respectively. All are expected to be shipped in October of 2015 provided the campaign reaches its $60,000 goal.

Both of the robots are terrifying in the best way possible, offering the possibility of complete snow annihilation from the comfort of one’s hot chocolate, but are incredibly heavy and pretty expensive. To fully prepare for the winter, a Snow Guard can be used to protect your car from overnight frost while a pair of Digitsoles can keep feet warm when socks won’t do. All this together would make anyone a rugged winter warrior.

Categories
Home

NutriTower brings gardening indoors, leaves bugs outdoors

There’s nothing like fresh veggies and herbs to compliment a much anticipated and carefully prepared main dish. Such treats are normally only available during summer and fall unless one has their own greenhouse – or NutriTower. This convenient system has special lighting that provides plants with the right amount of light for growing, so windows are not mandatory to make it work. Once water is poured in the water storage unit, the system is somewhat self-irrigating. The vertical system means minimal space is required for the garden, and it can even be installed in the kitchen for easy harvesting.

It’s not clearly indicated what special tools may be necessary for setting up and installing the system, useful information to include in the campaign. Backers may also want to check out The Herb Grower, Garden@Home, and Ecofarm campaigns. This campaign seeks to raise $30,000 CAD ($26,200 USD). For $50 CAD ($44 USD), backers get one standard seed starter kit with an expected delivery of March 2015.

Categories
Home Kids/Babies Safety

Toddler Safety Electrical Plugs play hide and seek from little fingers

It seems like baby-proofing the house is one of those tasks that is really never done – kind of like parenting. And for whatever reason, toddlers seem to be especially fascinated by electrical outlets. Toddler Safety Electrical Plugs is kind of an out of sight, out of mind gadget that hides the electrical outlet from small fingers, but still allows mom or dad to easily access it when it is needed. Initial installation may be somewhat inconvenient, since it involves using a screwdriver and removing the existing faceplate, but after that, the product is touted as offering one-hand operation convenience.

There is actually a wide variety of outlet covers out there with child safety in mind. This particular product seems to have a similar design as the KidCo Outlet Plug Cover. One of the more popular covers among parents is Munchkin because they are extremely easy to use and inexpensive.  Backers with toddlers may also want to check out the PopSwitch and Bright Switch campaigns. This campaign seeks to raise $5,000, however may have trouble doing so as it is offering no reward tiers.

Categories
Home Smart Home

Keep plants from being thirsty, full with Blossom Wi-Fi smart watering system

Up to 50% of the water used to hydrate lawns and garden is wasted. As the water situation is getting worse, especially in California, homeowners need to ensure that they’re being responsible in the way they water their lawns.

Blossom is a smart watering device that saves water. This sensor connects to an app that lets the user view each zone of their garden and schedule when to water them. The app will show what is being watered and how much time it has left. In addition, it connects with local weather data to adjust watering based on temperature and rainfall. Blossom also boasts a far-reaching connection between sensors and app using both Powerline and Wi-Fi to do so. Watering can be controlled not just from a smartphone, but also from a tablet or laptop as well.

Smart watering systems are the way to go, saving plants from dying and money on water bills. In addition, they’re environmentally friendly, conserving water so that everyone wins. Unlike the similar Sprinkl, however, Blossom lacks the integration of water conservation policies in any town, a useful feature to add, but does feature app integration making it ultimately more convenient. One Blossom will cost backers $119 for estimated delivery in February 2015. Blossom is hoping to raise $30,000 on Kickstarter.

Categories
Home Smart Home

Sprinkl smart watering system keeps plants hydrated, saves money and water

Over-watering, under-watering and weather conditions can mean certain death for gardens, plants or crops anywhere. Most have sprinklers set to automatically water their lawns every night, whether it’s raining or not. These systems fail to take rain or lack thereof into account when hydrating plants.

Sprinkl is a smart watering system that does more than just spew water everywhere. First of all, it monitors the soil, checking hydration levels at all times. After that, it syncs up to weather forecasts. Simply input location and it’ll see what’s coming in the way of moisture. In addition, it takes into account local water conservation laws. Sometimes, a town or city will put a ban on lawn watering to make sure there’s enough water for everyone. Sprinkl makes sure that laws are followed, keeps the lawn hydrated, but won’t over-water in times of heavy rainfall.

Using Wi-Fi the sensor in the ground keeps the touchpad inside up to date on everything that’s going on. The screen displays date, time, temperature, soil level, past rainfall, next rainfall, watering schedule and zones. If different areas need different levels of moisture, the touchscreen makes that possible.

As far as smart sprinklers go, Sprinkl is a great one. With its myriad of options and ease of use, it’s completely versatile for any garden. For $299 backers can get one with one sensor by May 2015. Higher reward tiers offer more sensors for larger lawns and gardens. Sprinkl is hoping to raise $150,000 on Kickstarter.

Categories
Home Lighting

Shade light switch auto-dims lights, smartens smart bulbs

The lighting in any home can make or break a room. It’s best to have lots of light so as not to be left in the dark, but have the ability to dim those lights for dinner or intimate time with a spouse. However, constantly running to the light switch to adjust these levels isn’t very smooth.

Shade is a smart lighting system that adjusts light automatically. It will brighten or dim any room based on sunlight. With photocells, this product detects sunlight and brightens or dims accordingly. In addition, it uses Wi-Fi to allow for scheduling, remote control and geolocation settings. However, as Shade is used more and more, the product will learn common habits and adjust the lights to match them. For instance, if brighter light is desired on weeknights, Shade will customize itself to such a preference.

Unlike other smart light switches, Shade doesn’t require a smartphone to turn lights on. It uses a physical on/off switch. This is because the folks at Shade believe such a tool is much easier to use than having to get out the phone, a good thought. It’s easy to get caught up in the technology of it all without recognizing that sometimes the old ways work better.

Shade will definitely make a great addition to any home. For offices, however, it may not work as well. Workers need bright light to see whether the sun is high in the sky or not. Still, it’s great for setting the mood for dinner. Unfortunately, backers much purchase one light switch at a time, so rigging the whole house may prove costly. For one switch, Shade is asking for an $88 donation with estimated delivery in July 2015. This product is looking to raise an ambitious $125,000 on Kickstarter.