Categories
Sensors/IoT

O2 can breathe easy as another sensor-filled tag

Wearable technology has been able to provide those living in the 21 century with some of the most amazing benefits on an individualized level. O2 is another one of those interesting creations. The device is coin-sized and will function for up to 90 days with Bluetooth 4.0. It appears that there are multiple O2 devices with the capability to function in various ways:  the product allows its user to gather information about the weather and environment, operates with reaching exercise and fitness goals, reports information about sleep patterns, or tracks personal belongings.

Currently, it is only compatible with iPhone 4s & later, iPad 2nd Generation & later, and Android devices with 4.3 or above. O2 has such a wide range of uses that users will rejoice in its versatility. However, the campaign could use a good proofreading as the spelling mistakes are quite distracting. This campaign seeks to raise $100,000 by December 23, 2014. For $49, backers get three products and may choose from black, white, sky blue, pomegranate red, or lemon yellow. Expected delivery is currently set for February 2015.

Categories
Sensors/IoT

A tiny motion sensor, CoinGuard alerts you to mysterious movements

We all have those things that we want to keep protected from the sticky fingers and greedy curious hands of burglars, children, or even just friends and family. Aside from setting up bullet-proof cases with laser trip alarms, how can these items be protected? CoinGuard is a simple and small security system that can be laid atop any item and serve as a watchdog. If the CoinGuard is moved, it triggers the motion sensor and sends a notifcation to the user’s phone, letting them know that their item is being tampered with.

CoinGuard does this through a nearby hub that syncs up to sensors and connects to the Internet through ethernet. The system allows for some peace of mind if items are being tampered with, but this comes with one key drawback. The CoinGuard has no way of reporting who is touching the protected items, and lacks the visual recognition to deter someone who doesn’t know what CoinGuard is. So if one is away from home and their valuables are being taken, the best they can do is try and call someone to respond in time when an alert has been sent. Pilot Labs is raising $100,000 through Kickstarter, and will set backers back $45 in December.

Categories
Sensors/IoT Wallets

Jayster wallet lets you know of its absence via Bluetooth

Losing anything valuable can put a huge dent in our day, throwing us off from what we need to do and causing unnecessary worry and stress. Instead of running around trying to get it sorted by retracing your steps or calling your credit card companies, Jayster wants to help you avoid that altogether with its wallet sensor. Without adding much weight or volume, Jayster gives your wallet all the functionality necessary so that you can get it back in your hands when it isn’t.

The slim insert comes in a variety of colors, and is outfitted with both Bluetooth and GPS technology that allows it to connect to your iOS or Android smartphone. If your wallet somehow strays further than 15 feet away from you, an audible alarm on the insert itself will sound in its Nest mode. If it ends up lost even after that, a companion app uses a hot/cold system or a more accurate GPS to find it. Jayster will continue to grow and be useful down the road with its upgradeable firmware and replaceable battery that lasts for two years as well. As much as this will avoid lots of headaches, its $20 price tag certainly reflects its limited functionality. The campaign is looking to deliver the Jayster by November 2014, with a campaign goal of $10,000.

 

Categories
Smart Home

Ambi is another connected add-on that tells air conditioners to cool it

For air conditioner lovers, the scene is all too familiar. The house is the perfect temperature when it’s time to go to sleep, and then in the middle of the night, it feels like a new ice age has arrived. Ambi Climate is a smart brain for any model of air conditioner with an infra-red remote that senses outdoor and indoor conditions to adjust the air conditioner to the perfect temperature. Monitoring humidity, time of day, weather, motion, and indoor temperature, Ambi Climate adjusts the air conditioning to the perfect setting before anyone can even consider adjusting it.

Like any good smart air conditioner, Ambi Climate can also be adjusted manually using its app, even while outside of the home. Ambi Climate also pays attention to the situations in which manual controls are used to learn more about the user and better predict the temperatures he or she wants their home to have. By adjusting automatically, Ambi Climate not only find the perfect A/C setting, but also saves on energy bills. Ambi Labs has set its goal at $25,000. Buyers will feel the perfect indoor climate for $99 in time for the 2015 summer.

Categories
Health and Wellness Sensors/IoT

Fever Smart lets you monitor your kids for lobal warming

The Premise. When your child is sick, it’s important to monitor their temperature constantly. Fever spikes in the night can go unnoticed by parents who don’t want to keep waking their children up to take their temperature. It can be dangerous to miss this important information in regards to your child’s health.

The Product. Fever Smart is an easy and effective way to monitor your child’s health. The sensor sits under your child’s armpit and is attached with a sticky patch. It keeps track of your child’s temperature and sends alerts via Wi-fi to the accompanying smartphone app. Currently, Fever Smart is only compatible with Apple and even works with the new iOS 8. Any information gathered is automatically uploaded to Apple’s iCloud so the information is accessible for multiple users anywhere. The sensor runs on battery and Fever Smart is FDA-approved.

The Pitch. Fever Smart’s campaign video features its many chief operators discussing their product. Their main motivation for Fever Smart was the health and safety of children. The campaign promises that upon reaching 150% of their $40,000 goal, that the creators will work on making Fever Smart Android compatible as well.

The Perks. Early birds can enjoy this smart fever monitor for $99 or at a regular price of $129. For those who just can’t wait, $179 will get them the app and product a month earlier than the rest in December 2014. Estimated delivery for the regular tiers is set for January 2015.

The Potential. Fever Smart has several things going for it. One, it continuously monitors fever in times of sickness. Two, it’s non-invasive. And three, it uploads information to the iCloud so it’s readily available. This isn’t the only smart fever monitoring device out there, however. The Kinsa Smart Thermometer also hooks up to smartphones to deliver comprehensive data, but Kinsa only allows for one-at-a-time temperature readings. As for Fever Smart, the only question is how comfortable those sensors are, especially for kids who tend to be finicky about having things attached to their bodies. Still, this product is a cool, innovative product for helicopter moms who want to make sure their kids are okay.

Categories
Fitness Safety Tech Accessories

Jolt Sensor sits on your head, makes sure it stays there

The Premise. Head injuries and concussions are always serious and must be treated accordingly. Short of going to the hospital, however, it’s difficult to detect when a concussion has occurred. Athletes are especially susceptible to such dangers and need to be constantly monitored for safety.

The Product. The Jolt Sensor is a small device that lives on an athlete’s helmet, headband, or goggles. It’s white, discrete and hooks up via Bluetooth to smartphones. The Jolt Sensor is sensitive enough that it can detect when a concussion may have occurred based on the wearer’s head’s acceleration rate. When such an injury has been sustained, it sends a signal to a parent or coach altering them to the player’s condition. Jolt runs on a multi-week battery and can be recharged using a USB cord.

The Pitch. The campaign video goes through the dangers of head injury as well as the common occurrence of athlete’s getting back into the game too quickly after being hurt. One of the creators had one such injury wrestling and sustained brain damage due to improper care of his concussion. The rest of the campaign goes into specs of the Sensor as well as the manufacturing schedule for the product. Jolt Sensor is looking to raise $60,000 in a month on Kickstarter.

The Perks. Early birds can enjoy the Jolt Sensor for $80. At a regular rate, the Sensor will cost backers a $100 donation. Bigger tiers offer multi-packs of the product. Sensors are expected to be delivered in May 2015.

The Potential. Any way that athletes can be safer is always welcome. Many are pressured to push through their injuries in the name of the game, so it’s great that Jolt Sensor has found a way to support an athlete’s claim that they may be seriously hurt. The only apparent drawback of the Jolt Sensor is that, if fallen directly upon, it may break or push a dent into the wearer’s head. Still, the idea that concussions can be detected early and treated is a welcome concept for members of any sports team. 

Categories
Connected Objects Sensors/IoT Sports

The Holy Pie smart racket adds divine feedback to your game

smartracketTrying to learn proper technique in racketsports such as tennis and badminton can be tough. Having an aid like the strangely named Holy Pie Smart Racket, though, can help curb a newcomer’s mistakes or refine a more seasoned player. A microsensor in the handle tracks stats like hitting position and power. The product then connects with a PC or a smartphone to display 3D-models of your performance for your scrutiny. Whether the racket will also analyze that data to give you tips remains to be The raw data could be helpful, but it seems as though the product could benefit from some expert interpretation of the data. That would be particularly welcome considering the badminton version is expected at $240 and the tennis version is expected at $600. Those who know the flow and have cash to blow can improve their chances of bashing a birdie with units shipped in November 2014.

Categories
Sleep

Sense clips to your pillow, offers a mint of data

The Premise. Everyone needs to sleep, and yet only a select few get to enjoy the way their bodies are naturally inclined to do. Whether it’s city noise, a restless partner, or just the grind of a morning commute, the average person isn’t getting enough quality sleep every night.

The Product. Sense is a sort of hub that tracks and monitors all the important aspects of sleep through the use of the Sleep Pill, a small sensor that clips not to the body but instead to the pillow, and a ball full of sensors that rests on your nightstand. Sense functions as an alarm clock and a sleep monitor that pays attention to more than just how much movement is happening in the bed. Sense records any sounds that may jar users awake, can play calming sleep sounds, and can wake sleepers up at a time that is more natural by monitoring the sleep cycle. After each night, Sense gives users a sleep score based on the conditions of the bedroom and the quality of the sleep.

The Pitch. Sense’s video is all about how to unlock the best sleep one can get without ignoring al the realities of life, family, and work. The device is attractive and the materials show this off very well. Designer Hello wants to raise $100,000 to make Sense more than just a dream.

The Perks. A Sense and the companion Sleep Pill can be picked up for $99;, and will be reaching homes in November 2014. Bed partners can also get in on the fun with a Sleep Pill of their own. Those who want to color coordinate the striking device with their bedroom decor will need to shell out $1,000 to work with Hello’s team of industrial designers.

The Potential. The wearable market is quickly reaching a saturation point, and there are already plenty of devices that take a long hard look at how users sleep. What’s great about Sense is the way that it replaces an existing household device (the alarm clock) with something that is pleasing in design and more functional in what it does. Additionally, that the Sleep Pill clips to the pillow and not anywhere on the pajamas is a great asset for the more forgetful folks out there, as well as those who prefer to sleep au naturel and have nothing to clip a tracker to. In terms of innovation, Sense isn’t trying much that hasn’t been addressed before, but this is one of those rare “complete” packages that has a lot to offer even if it isn’t the newest idea out there.

Categories
Imaging Smart Home

Butterfleye camera flits between security and fun functions

The Premise. Home security is a constant concern. Many security companies cost a lot of money and only set off an alarm, leaving you wondering what’s really going on at home. Others are set off by pets or even by yourself when returning home. 

The Product. Butterfleye is a small wireless camera that watches over your home while you’re away. It connects with your phone so that you can check in with the camera at all times. This little security guard also has two-way audio so you can speak with whoever you see on camera. With a smart operating system, Butterfleye can not only detect motion, but also easily distinguish between humans and pets. A heat detector registers rapid change in temperature and even fires. The camera is portable and can even be used to take spontaneous photos and videos of fun moments. Those pictures and clips captured can be accessed from the app and shared with friends and family via e-mail or social media.

The Pitch. Butterfleye’s video shoes a modern career woman, mom and wife using the product with ease. It’s simple and to the point. Butterfleye is featured on its very own website and not on a crowd-funding site. The creators of the product have not shared a pre-order goal.

The Perks. One Butterfleye on the site goes for $199, $50 less than the retail price and is set to ship in early 2015. The site also offers a three-pack of Butterfleye for $547.

The Potential. Home security has become more and more simple in the recent past with people avoiding signing costly contracts with security companies and instead opting for a lower-cost option. NOVI, another standalone security device, features a camera, smoke detector and learning software. NOVI lets the user contact the police or help easily when the alarm is triggered. It is unclear whether Butterfleye has the same feature, though since it connects to your smartphone, it would not be hard to send for help if your home is in danger. In addition to its security functions, Butterfleye is also a cool camera that does the work of documenting memories for you, so that you can enjoy the moment. This multi-tasking function along with everything else Butterfleye does makes it a very interesting product. There is certainly room on the security/camera market for Butterfleye.

Categories
Connected Objects Health and Wellness Wearables

Violet won’t let you burn, keeps eye on sun

The Premise. There’s nothing like getting outside into the sun. The only problem is that risk of overexposure to the sun is high. It’s difficult to gauge when you’ve had enough and are about to get burned. 

The Product. Violet is a small device worn on your clothing or on a wristband when outside. It syncs up with your smartphone to help determine your UV and vitamin D levels. With the accompanying app, Violet-wearers can customize the device’s data, letting it know their skin type and the SPF of the sunscreen they’re wearing, along with when it was applied. This allows Violet to let you know when you need to reapply sunscreen or when you’re going to burn. It also lets you know when you’ve received the recommended daily amount of vitamin D. Violet is small and silver and uses sleek lights as indicators to the wearer. The app shows you your sun exposure data throughout the month and even lets you keep track of multiple users all at once.

The Pitch. Violet’s campaign video is a bit commercial-y, but does a great job of showing off the product’s various features. It really emphasizes the importance of vitamin D without including too many scary skin cancer facts. The rest of the campaign goes through the prototyping process along with different screen captures of the app in action. Violet needs a whopping $100,000 on Kickstarter in order to reach its goal. 

The Perks. Early-bird tiers offer Violet at $69 and $79 for delivery in April 2015. At its regular price, Violet goes for $105 with delivery also in April 2015. Reward tiers reach up to $2,000.

The Potential. There are too many fitness monitoring devices out there to count, but few monitors that actually look at how the sun affects one’s personal health. CliMate measure multiple environmental conditions including the UV index. Similar to Violet, it acts as a remind to reapply sunscreen, but doesn’t only focus on the sun like Violet does. The campaign focuses a little too heavily on how great vitamin D is and not at how harmful UV rays can be, but the product does measure both. As seen in the campaign, the app and product both look sophisticated and have the added appeal of being able to monitor multiple users, which is perfect for children. While the campaign goal is quite steep, Violet seems like the perfect way to enjoy the sun without having to worry about over-exposure.