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Health and Wellness Wearables

SunSprite fights SAD, offers feedback to keep you grazin’ in the sun

The Premise. For years, doctors have suggested that a major factor in the rise of depression, energy loss, and insomnia is a result of the increase in time most people spend in doors, bathed in the glow of computers and televisions. The remedy to this concern is simply exposure to the sun, but concerns about complications from ultraviolet rays keep people unsure about just what to do.

The Product. With a clip onto any article of clothing or accessory, the SunSprite is available to tell consumers how much bright light exposure they need in a day for optimum health benefits.  The SunSprite itself is solar-powered, meaning that charging it is as easy as using it. A line of lights on the product’s surface measure how much light its owner has basked in that day, and a companion app helps people plan for harsh UV exposure, advising them to use sunscreen or other protection. The SunSprite comes with no extra cables or attachments and is roughly the dimensions of a house key.

The Pitch. SunSprite is the brainchild of the Harvard-educated doctors and engineers at GoodLux. The message in their introductory video is simple – the human body was designed to be out in the sun, and their device will help make sure its owners are getting enough exposure. Additional videos include a product unboxing and the medical background behind the product’s inception. The graphics help explain the different reward tiers, how the SunSprite works, and how bright light affects the human body. GoodLux needs $50,000 to finish tooling, production, and certification for their creation.

The Perks. The Sunsprite and its companion app are available for contributions of at least $99, and is expected to be arriving in June in time to get plenty of sun. Pledges of $399 also include a SunBox SunRay II (or different model for European backers) that will allow backers to get light exposure even on the cloudiest of days.

The Potential. This simple device is sure to help people make sense of an easy holistic solution to their ailments. Outdoor enthusiasts will surely be adding these to their list of essential gadgets. While it may not become a common accessory based on the price and limited functionality, the self-powering, non-invasive SunSprite will become a fast favorite to those who are serious about lighting up their lives.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Music Sensors/IoT

Mogees turns virtually anything into a musical novelty

The Premise. Amateur percussionists have always found a way to make music using garbage cans, chain link fences or a desktop as a drum kit. This DIY form of music has found its way to full-blown stage shows, but what if there were a way to turn percussive racket into harmonic music?

The Product. In the tradition of MaKey MaKey, which allowed virtually anything to be a PC input, Mogees is a sensor, a little smaller than a golf ball, that can be affixed to any surface. By connecting to a companion app on mobile devices, the Mogees detects the vibrations of objects being dragged across, tapped on, or any other form of physical contact with the surface it’s attached to. These vibrations generate musical tones like chimes, bells, or strings depending on the app’s setting and the types of vibration.

The Pitch. Bruno Zamborlin, inventor of the Mogees, shows off what the device can do with the help of experimental dance artists Plaid. Among the promotional material is a music video that the two created for a song made entirely with the Mogees, which goes from novel to truly impressive by the halfway point. Additional materials explain how to use the companion app, and an explanation of Song Mode, which allows users to sync up their percussion with a MIDI of a favorite song to play along. Zamborlin needs £50,000 to begin production and keep the price point low.

The Perks. Backers will need to pledge approximately $67 to get a Mogees, either for Apple devices or Android operating systems. The higher quality red sensor and pro version of the app goes for just over $100, and the early access beta version is available for roughly $162. The iOS version is scheduled to ship out in August 2014, with the Android version following in November. Backers who pledge to get the beta device will be making music in May.

The Potential. Upon first hearing what the Mogees is capable of, it’s hard not to feel a sense of awe and childlike wonder of glimpsing a new, musical world with this innovative device. Five minutes later, the feeling is of being stuck in performance art purgatory, where even a heavy dose of Bjork would be a welcome return to normalcy and stability. Artists and urban optimists might be able to create lush dreamscapes and inventive new city soundtracks. Everyone else will likely be responsible for a few minutes of discord and then probably lose interest.