There is something relaxing and sometimes even healing about sitting and listening to a babbling brook or watching the sun dance on the waves of a lake or ocean. But with lakes and oceans come sand, so the disabled are often left out. Such was the focus of the creator of Beach Walker Sand Crab. The large wheeled motorized scooter makes enjoying the beach accessible to them. The only drawback to this is that it seems that it would cost a small fortune to produce this product. But for backers who want to make it happen, there are multiple opportunities to pledge toward this, with small thank you gifts expected to be delivered in December 2014.
Month: September 2014
Once upon a time, a talking teddy bear named Teddy Ruxpin read gave children all over America nightmares and also read them stories through the use of cassette tapes plugged into its torso.
TROBO is the nerdy spiritual successor to Ruxpin in a lot of ways, albeit without the nightmare fuel and with the feature set one would expect in the Internet age. TROBO is a plush robot available in two styles, Edison (male-inspired) and Curie (female-inspired), assuring kids will want a TROBO no matter what kind of toys they like. TROBO reads stories that are focused on science, technology, math, and engineering, fostering a desire to learn and become more skilled in scientific pursuits at a young age. The stories are read aloud with an app used on a tablet or phone that allows kids to read along and also interact with the stories.
The interaction takes place directly, as children make their own avatars that look like them and share their name so TROBO speaks right at the young reader. Multiple stories will be available at launch, with additional TROBO stories being added to the app store over time to prevent content from getting stale or boring. Team TROBO is raising $60,000 for manufacturing and testing the toys, as well as creating more stories. Parents can get their kids a TROBO for $50 delivered in time for next year’s holidays: November 2015.
From the ground up, TROBO is designed to be a toy that children love and want to play with, while at the same time is a toy that inspires them to learn and understand the world around them. For parents and kids, that’s a complete win/win. Assuming, of course, that parents don’t have any leftover trauma from “playing” with Teddy Ruxpin.
Well, the video says it’s “fun to use.” What an interesting notion that picking up dog waste could be an even remotely fun experience. Nevertheless, The Poo Puck is supposed to achieve just such an objective. How, you want to know? So glad that question was bravely asked. The three-piece system is designed in such a way that the product can be placed on top of the poo and the user can, no, not kick it, but step on it. Poo then adheres to a disposable honeycomb type mechanism so that distance gets placed between one’s shoe and the poo. Backers can get theirs for $15 (comes with 5 refills) and an expected delivery of October 2014. The sooner the better, right?
The Premise. Wireless providers spend a great deal of their advertising time talking about 3G, 4G, and data coverage in general. These are things that many customers consider when selecting a provider, but what if all the networks were available at any time?
The Product. Anqor is a mobile hotspot in physical form, roughly the size of two smartphones. Housing local data SIM cards inside its database, Anqor scans the available networks and tests them for ideal speeds. After selecting the best one and connecting, Anqor can have up to 10 devices connect to it the same way as they would connect to local Wi-fi networks. Anqor offers two monthly subscription levels for this service, with 2GB per month data for £32 and 5GB per month at £10 for a grounded, home-based subscription. Anqor’s battery can function for 8 hours normally or 250 hours on standby.
The Pitch. Anqor’s pitch is very enthusiastic and touts high concepts of liberation from data networks and the freedom to connect any device to the internet from any location. Viewers can see how easy it is to set Anqor up to scan for mobile data networks and connect laptops or phones to them regardless of their native provider. Other features like a bandwidth booster for when the Anqor is being taxed by its maximum 10 devices are also explained in greater detail. Anqor’s developers have set a fundraising target of £250,000 for certification, testing, and production.
The Perks. The first batch of Anqor hotspots are shipping out May 2015 for backers who pledge £140. The £260 tier adds a 3 month data subscription at 2GB per month. Packs of 2 or 10 Anqors are also available at higher tiers.
The Potential. When a device promises to do away with both roaming charges and expensive data plans, the first thought that should come to mind is that no telecom provider would be pleased about having this device on the market. If Anqor can slip under the radar of mobile data and 3G providers and function as well as promised, then it’s an absolute must-own for the business-class traveler or anyone else who does more work abroad than in the office. Those that have plenty of quality coverage in their places of productivity and the devices that make the best use of it won’t see much of a need for Anqor.
Communication, social media, games, navigation — the way we use iPhones is a lengthy one, making it the most important tool in someone’s pocket. Products that save the day come in all shapes and sizes, but none charge the iPhone universally, a problem to which Oivo is the solution. Two magnetically connected halves hide connectors that accept four AA batteries, allowing users to bring their phone back to life anywhere in the world to locate that next point of interest, or to make that necessary call. How long it will with just four AA batteries remains to be seen, but those still interested can receive one in December 2o14 for $39.
Perhaps one of life’s major annoyances is that matter of frequently misplaced house and car keys – small but highly essential items. In an effort to put a stop to the craziness of trying to find them or remember where they may have been placed last, Keynade offers a key ring that has a hook for hanging keys in a pant or purse pocket. The solid, Aerospace grade Titanium sanity restorer also includes a bottle opener, tab lifter and screw driver that seems to be effective while still being TSA-friendly. This seems like it may be a rather quality product overall, but it might be even nicer if the hook functioned more like a mountain climbing clip. For $25, backers get one product with an expected deliver of December 2014.
Researchers and businesses are almost always in need of more computing power, but having room for a datacenter is the least of worries when there’s overhead, product cost, and upkeep to consider. The Rockhopper boasts itself as the world’s smallest datacenter, offering 8 nodes for credit card sized servers, supporting as many as 64 cores in something that fits on a desktop. The product is entirely open source and supports multiple Linux distributions while being extremely space- and energy efficient. The device looks sleek and customizable, but will require both a need and the knowhow to properly make use of it in the IT department. Rockhopper datacenters start at $299 CAD and are expected to ship in May 2015.
Whether it’s an evening of fishing, tinkering with the car, or a woman’s need to light up her purse, LureViewer has a hands-free solution for lighting up dark places in the night. The finished product is a LED light on a flexible rubber post with an alligator clip on one end that can wrap around the most ideal make-shift mount of the moment. It’s a nice touch that it’s also waterproof and has magnetic properties, but the length of time for which light can be provided by the product is not clearly indicated. Nevertheless, backers can get one for $10 with an expected delivery of November 2015.
The Premise. Why should the indoors reap all the benefits of automated smart home technology? What homeowners can also use is something that makes their lives easier when it comes to home and garden maintenance, while also cutting back on utility bill costs.
The Product. Eve is a smart yard system that uses real-time data to determine when to water a lawn or plants. The Eve itself is a control panel that can control smart sprinkler systems and monitors weather forecasts to make a decision on whether to water or let mother nature handle the job. Eve’s field operatives are little green ground pegs called Adam sensors, which can be pushed into soil at any location and will monitor soil moisture both at the surface and at the level where a plant’s roots will be. In combination with Eve’s eye on the weather, the Adam sensors report back to Eve to let the system know when a watering is needed. Better still, Adam sensors have a battery life up to one full year without being changed.
The Pitch. Eve comes right out and points out the shortcomings of other outdoor smart watering systems as little more than glorified timers. Getting into further detail about the Zigbee and SmartThings systems that Eve runs on, developer Plaid Systems makes a strong argument for why their product stands as the first truly smart irrigation system. Plaid Systems is raising $75,000 to finance molding and production.
The Perks. Adam sensors start at $55 with $50 added for each additional sensor. The Eve controller can be picked up to support as many as 16 zones for $100, but both Adam and Eve require a SmartThings Hub. To get everything required, the $295 tier bundles an Eve, 1 Adam sensor, and a SmartThings Hub, with the hub arriving in October and the Adam and Eve arriving later in March 2015. Multiple tiers are available offering varying multiples of each product.
The Potential. As the campaign points out immediately, this feels like one of the first smart yard systems, offering a combination of weather data and soil moisture to determine when to water and how much instead of just controlling timers with a smartphone. The requirement of a SmartThings Hub feels more like a setback for most homeowners, save those who are already using the platform and other Zigbee devices in their smart home. The devices can work without the trio assembled, but lack a strong degree of the functionality that will sell people upon looking into Eve and its campaign.
Whether it’s a seasoned rider that’s prepared for the worst at all times or a casual cyclist who just likes to ride now and then, nothing sours the experience worse than a flat. CrankPump is a simple tire inflating system that is aerodynamic and easily accessed because it replaces a plastic axle cap found on Shimano brand cranks. Unscrewing that cap and replacing it with a CrankPump gives riders access to a CO2 pump that will get the ride going in just a couple short minutes. This is a great idea for bike-lovers, but because it’s limited to Shimano cranks only, anyone that prefers other models won’t be able to enjoy this product. CrankPump hits the road in February 2015 for £15.