Categories
Music

Proper Audio 2 is a mountable Bluetooth speaker that probably won’t abduct you

No, it won’t abduct a person, but it could potentially abduct ears and attention spans. Music lovers always appreciate a good sound system. And Proper Audio 2 offers mini Bluetooth speakers for iPhones that are not only portable, but also mountable. The round shape helps to enhance sound and create a full, home speaker sound for music that is being played through an iPhone. The iPhone can be docked to the speaker, which in turn can be mounted to the wall with a 3M adhesive, or a quick twist of the speaker and the two items can be moved to another location.

While it appears that the speakers are able to be used outdoors, they likely still need to be sheltered from rain or snow, a small detail not taken into account by the creators. This campaign seeks to raise $40,000 by December 9, 2014. Early bird speakers get a set of speakers for $89 with an expected delivery of April 2015.

Categories
Furniture

Wobbly Baron chair keeps moving around to keep you on your toes

Is it a chair or a toy? The wobbly effect is reminiscent of the children’s toy Weebles, but this is designed with adults in mind. Since working at a computer can get pretty boring, Baron can add some fun to your workday in the form of a unique chair. The gray cushion on top gives a bit of posterior comfort to the white, translucent plastic body. The rounded base is filled with several liters of concrete.

While this makes for a great wobble effect, shipping this baby is going to cost some bucks. Also, it may not be the best type of chair for those who have back issues since it doesn’t offer back support, or for those with osteoporosis issues since it will take some time to get used to sitting on it without tumbling over. But it does seem like a fun piece of furniture to own for the young and young at heart. This campaign seeks to raise $30,000 by December 9, 2014. For $300, backers get one chair with an expected delivery of January 2015.

Categories
Smart Home

Droplit drops a remote control for your entire home

The rash of smart home automation solutions all think having a proprietary app is a fantastic idea, because why wouldn’t you want to have quick and easy access to total control of different parts of your home? As well-intentioned a thought that is, it quickly becomes apparent that having 12 different apps for disparate parts of your home actually isn’t that useful after all and makes decidedly analog action of flicking on your light switch that much more attractive again.

Droplit is a smart home solution that allows you to control all of the different connected objects in your home through a single remote control or iOS, Android, or Windows phone app. The app will allow for quick and easy access to all of your homes connected objects using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth LE, or an optional z-wave attachment. Both the remote and the app have the capability to set timers and capture “scenes,” or pre-set lighting and device states, that can be recalled with a single button press, making that one perfect set-up for your home entertainment system easily accessible anytime. The Droplit system is available with a backing of $129 and can be expected in June of 2015. The campaign is looking for $50,000 to hone their Bluetooth implementation and put the product into production.

Droplit expands on what Apple is doing by employing their own cloud service as an intermediary so that devices can be controlled from anywhere in the world almost instantaneously. Bluetooth devices within the home will also benefit, too, being that Droplit doubles as an access point which extends their range of communication. The company confusingly recommends multiple remotes to get the most out of their system, but that kind of seems counterintuitive to what they’re trying to do. In any case, cloud implementation is a clever move and could be what separates them from the pack.

Categories
Sensors/IoT Smart Home

Aria detects radon and IAQ, reports it to your smartphone

Pollution is a big problem, but it’s not one that’s limited only to big cities or industrialized areas. The truth is that indoor air quality, or lack thereof, is the cause of thousands of deaths each year, whether it’s carbon monoxide or the harder to detect and deadlier radon.

Aria is a home air quality monitor that can detect radon and other pollutants and report on air quality in real time, giving homeowners plenty of time to react and protect themselves from harmful gases. Aside from the colorful light indicating air quality on the device’s exterior, Aria can also push notifications using a Wi-Fi network to owners’ phones, alerting them of an issue with the air at home even from a distance.

While Aria’s light functions with some basic indicators (green means good, red means bad), more detailed information is uploaded at all times to the app, letting users know when to ventilate or call for outside help if necessary. Aria breaks this information down hour by hour, giving a detailed report of when pollutants are entering the home. Aria developer RSens is asking for $95,000 to offset manufacturing costs. The device itself costs $99 for early supporters and is expected to launch September 2015.

It’s hard to be overly cautious when dealing with something that could be potentially life-threatening and hazardous to an entire family. That being said, asking a device to provide hourly breakdowns of air quality on demand seems a little hypochondriac. It’s nice that the device offers this level of performance, but many users might not need to be so plugged in to what the air is like at home at all times. Either way, there’s some peace of mind to be gained in knowing Aria is looking out.

Categories
Smart Home

Point offers simple home security without putting sensors everywhere

The conception of home security in the connected age is one full of cameras and the complex systems that go along with them. Cloud storage and daily app interaction combine to make the use of these systems more tedious than it should be. The team over at Form Devices, Inc. believes that implementing security measures in your home should ease worries, not give you more to worry about. Their inaugural product, Point, is a representation of that thinking.

Point is a subtle, circular device that attaches to a wall in your home with design cues let it blend easily into most any aesthetic. Once installed, the device multi-tasks by listening for unusual sounds in your home and analyzing the air for disturbances. With the onboard Wi-Fi chip, Point can communicate a variety of information to your smart device, such as when a window breaks, guests arrive, when humidity levels are abnormal, or when there’s smoke present. In addition, Point uses a combination of lights and speakers to facilitate notifications to you or guests so that you can gently remind guests to keep it down when they party too hard. A Point can be had for $79 with an expected date of delivery in July 2015. Form Devices, Inc. is looking for $50,000 to complete manufacturing.

Unfortunately, Point’s most glaring lack is the inability to to detect carbon monoxide, something that should be standard at this point and is a severe oversight. In addition, it comes with a speaker but users can’t communicate through it which would be a nice touch. All in all, the Canary offers a much more robust feature set that includes the ability to sound a 90dB alarm to ward off intruders and respond to emergencies with a one-touch call to the appropriate authorities. Although Point emphasizes the removal of the camera in an effort to reclaim the feeling of one’s home, the capability for HD video most of the time is welcome. In any case, Point is a low-cost way to introduce some connected aspects to one’s home without going overboard.

Categories
Connected Objects Music

Skoog is a squishy cube that makes music with its app

The MPC board made famous by the decades of innovative rappers and producers has gotten a 21st century makeover with the Skoog. Originally designed for education, the Skoog is a squishy foam cube that acts as a controller for the two Skoog apps, Skoogmusic and Mogo. Everything together allows you to play any instrument and the sounds associated with it to musically express yourself without limits.

The product connects to supported iOS/Android tablets using Bluetooth LE and to desktops and laptops as well, providing the interface to be as expressive as your mind will allow you to. One of the Skoog’s defining features is its ability to employ ‘physical modelling’ when reproducing an instruments sound. This takes into account not only the instrument’s sound, but also the nuances of a stringed instrument, for example. This makes for exciting possibilities especially when combined with the Skoogmusic and Mogo software that allows you to customize every aspect of your experience.

In any case, Skoog is also compatible with other, leading music software like Ableton or Logic, so you can more deeply connect with your creations on software you are already familiar with. However, the device and the eco-system it creates may prove to be more of a novelty than anything else, and may fit education more than serious music making. Play bass lines and melodies, create your own sounds, and add effects on the fly for just £139 (~$218) by March 2015. Skoog is looking for £75,000 (~$117,600) to get their final production costs down.

Categories
Imaging Tech Accessories

Photography turntable offers PC-connected 360-degree photos

In the artistic world, 360° photography is really taking off for photographers, and companies like PanoCam 3D and Ricoh are offering both professionals and casual users options to take advantage. Companies who want to fully want to display their products and make all angles available to consumers are out of luck, often having to fork over at least $2,000 for 360° photography solutions. Lower-end solutions are just out of the question with their lackluster quality.

IconasSys’ 360 Product Photography Turntable and Software is a middle-priced option compatible with major DSLRs, and offers companies the most bang for their buck. The system is easy to use, and the software allows for on-the-fly adjustments to camera parameters. When users are done, the software is able to stitch together a full 360° of the product to increase online engagement and convert that engagement to sales.

Other options take panoramic pictures of the world outside and cost a fortune to do so, so the IconaSys system doing so for products and being available for just $409 is a big deal. The campaign is looking for $12,500 to introduce this product to market by February 2015.