Categories
Robots/Drones

Growver intelligently waters lawns, even beyond Sesame Street

Homeowners rely on lawn sprinkler systems to maintain their lawns. But those systems tend to waste a lot of water, can be costly to maintain, and sometimes do a mediocre — or worse — job of actually keeping grass alive.

patent-claimedGrowver is a lawn-watering robot that saves water by irrigating the lawn as it goes. Water sensors in the robot detect which areas of the yard are dry so that Growver can revive them. It works in conjunction with an Android, iOS and Windows app that enables users to track how their lawns are doing over time, adjust water levels, and also control Growver remotely.

The robot drives back and forth over the lawn and waters a 20-inch wide path. First, Growver’s sensors guide it along the boundary wire. After watering the perimeter, the product fills in the entire area using patent-pending sensor technology to follow the wet-dry transition. Measurements via grass moisture sensors and water-flow data also let Growver intelligently adjust watering depth. It stops automatically when the entire area is watered.

Categories
Connected Objects

With Tootz, your digital life has never been more colorful

The one thing the world so desperately needs isn’t electric cars, robotic servants/eventual overlords, or even to get to Mars. What the world really needs are unicorns. The more, the better. The critical lack of unicorns prancing around the grasslands of the world has always been a troubling sign of things gone awry. Luckily, Tootz the Unicorn is here to shower our reality with the rainbows disturbingly absent from everyday life.

As is common knowledge, unicorn rainbows don’t just appear out of thin air but rather the magical backsides of these wondrous creatures. Tootz the Unicorn is no exception: every time a Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, or Gmail notification comes through to a smartphone or web browser, multicolored joy billows out from the enchanted deity’s rear end.

Categories
Music Networking

Hub lets you stream wireless hi-fi audio to multiple users

It would be nice if multiple people could all listen to a song, play a videogame, or watch TV using their own headphones or earbuds. It would be especially nice if the sound provided was hi-fi-quality.

Hub is a device that enables existing headphones or speakers to receive wireless, hi-fi audio from any source. Each user just selects a battery-powered sound “puck” receiver from the Hub base station. Each person can control the volume on their own headphones. In addition to promising better sound quality than many wireless audio solutions,

Categories
Connected Objects Displays

The Lighty laser LED projector displays whatever wherever

editors-choiceEverybody loves heading to the movie theaters. The experience of watching a thrilling drama or pulse-pounding action flick is enhanced by the big screen, so much so that people will go as far as buying a projector for their own home to always have the big screen option. The problem lies in how expensive and bulky the projector usually can be, putting a damper on installation along with any ideas of portability.

In creating Lighty, inventor Ovidiu Sandru set out to combine robotic design with an HD laser projector. The result is a mechanical projector with integrated Android tablet that features a self-orientating, self-leveling 360° panoramic projector head that can display media on walls as well as ceilings. A double tap, touchless gesture or voice recognition can all wake Lighty up when ready to be used, and it can even work with products like the Leap Motion to extend control options.

Categories
Connected Objects Fitness

Get moving anywhere with the Move It connected exercise system

For most, one of the biggest roadblocks to developing a consistent exercise routine is simply finding a place to get sweaty. While a gym is an obvious answer, they can be crowded and/or expensive. Some choose to go at it at home instead, but that can quickly become limiting due to a lack of space.

The Move It portable, modular exercise system is designed to be a connected gym anywhere it is. It’s portable because it weighs a little under seven pounds and modular because its sturdy, sensor-equipped handles fit into each of the Move It’s four exercise tools: an ab wheel, a jump rope, push-up stand and resistance band. No matter the exercise, the product’s capacitive touch handles feature a six-axis gyroscope, an accelerometer and infrared elements for proper alignment along with pressure and tension sensors, all to accurately distinguish different exercises and coach users through their routine and ensure proper form.

Categories
Imaging Robots/Drones

Appbot Riley patrols, keeps its eye on your abode

The promise of the future is one built on the idea that robots will help humans progress against the challenges of tomorrow. Making this idea a reality will require huge leaps in technology, the types of which are around the proverbial corner but still a while off. Until then, there are products like the Appbot Riley that afford a glimpse at these possibilities.

Riley is a charming little robot designed to be a set of eyes and ears in the home when work or play calls. This roving robot is equipped with a microphone, speaker and 5MP camera with night vision capabilities, all of which can be controlled from its companion smartphone app over Wi-Fi to take snapshots, record video, check around the house, or communicate with those who may be at home.