Author: Jeff Berman

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Automotive Connected Objects

TrapTap keeps you updated on speed traps while keeping your eye on the road

Speed traps have long been the bane of drivers’ existence, especially when traveling on unfamiliar roads while on vacation or on business. More recently, red light cameras and school zones with cameras that record speeding have only made driving even more frustrating for some people.

TrapTap is a small, disc-shaped dashboard-mounted device that alerts drivers of speed traps, red light cameras and school zones to decrease the chances of getting fined. The device uses Bluetooth Low-energy (BLE) to communicate with Android and iOS smartphones via a free app and GPS mapping software on the phone.

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Connected Objects Health and Wellness

Cor becomes core to your health tracking efforts

Health-tracking devices are becoming increasingly popular. But there is one element of the equation that is typically missing from most of them: the ability to actually gauge what’s going on in the blood.

patent-claimedCor is a consumer blood analyzer that makes it fast and simple for people to get an in-depth understanding of what what’s going on inside the body at any time. Users just have to press the Cor Cartridge anywhere against their arm to get a blood sample. Unlike getting blood drawn at a doctor’s office, Cor uses a fine needle that takes a surface-level blood sample, so it’s faster and promises to be completely painless.

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Music

“A” speaker can send audio only to “U”

When listening to music at work or watching TV at home while other people are sleeping, it’s convenient to have a speaker that only delivers sound in the user’s direction.

patent-claimed“A” speaker does exactly that. It’s parametric speaker, that is, a speaker that sends audio only to those people who want to hear it by creating a narrow beam of sound, in much the same way that a laser creates a beam of light to focus on a precise area. Instead of producing ordinary sound waves with a single, moving electromagnetic coil and cone, “A” generates ultrasonic waves (high-frequency sound waves) that are then turned into audible sound waves. Users can connect “A” to mobile devices, stereos, TVs or any other audio sources via a 3.5mm mini-jack.

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Video Games

GPD Win palmtop offers modern PC games and apps to go

Many people rely on PCs to get important work done wherever they are, but don’t necessarily want to drag around a laptop everywhere they go. After all, a laptop can’t fit in anybody’s pocket. Many PC gamers, meanwhile, would also like to carry around their computers to play games wherever they are, but face the same issue.

GPD Win is a 5.5-inch Windows 10 PC that includes a keyboard and traditional game controls, along with a 1280 x 720 HD display. The pocket-sized device also touts an Intel Atom Cherry Trail X5-Z8550 quad-core processor. It can be connected to a TV using a Mini HDMI cable and wireless controller (both not included).

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Automotive Imaging

Drive Guardian guards against falling asleep at the wheel

editors-choiceDistracted driving continues to pose a major safety hazard to the public and few types of distracted driving are as dangerous as falling asleep at the wheel.

Drive Guardian is a safety alert system with a driver-facing camera that detects drowsiness. After setting it up and turning on a vehicle’s engine, the camera monitors drivers’ eyes and pupils in real-time and, using sophisticated algorithms, the device alerts driver by displaying LED indicator lights and sounding audio warnings whenever they are drowsy or distracted.

Drive Guardian ships in July at $249. But early bird Indiegogo backers can get one for a pledge starting at $169. Its makers hope to raise $50,000 by April 21.

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Music

RippleBuds out to send ripples through earbuds market with noise-blocking technology

Bluetooth earbuds are enormously handy for both listening to music and conducting hands-free phone conversations. But it’s often hard to hear the music or people talking on the phone due to all the outside noise that often can’t be avoided.

patent-claimedRippleBuds are noise-blocking Bluetooth earbuds with a built-in microphone that solves that dilemma. Its makers have replaced the mouthpiece found in most headsets with a microphone that fits invisibly inside the ear. Most of the patents its makers have for the product cover its core technologies that reduces echo and howling sounds when the speaker and microphone are placed closely together inside the earbuds.

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Health and Wellness Technology

Nervana earbuds makes any tune feel-good music

As the old saying goes, music can soothe the savage beast. Certainly, at the very least, the right music can relax listeners and make them happy.

Nervana takes that concept a step further. It’s a nerve stimulator with patent-pending earbuds that syncs to music and releases natural chemicals in the human body that generate pleasure. Nervana generates a gentle electrical signal that is transmitted to the surface of the left earbud on what looks like a standard earbud assembly.

When the left earbud is placed in the left ear and the Nervana generator is turned on, the electrical signal beats to whatever music is being experienced by the user, whether supplied to the generator through a user’s phone or through the environment, such as in a concert hall.  The electrical signal stimulates the body’s vagus nerve, which could result in the release of neurotransmitters, the body’s natural feel-good messengers.

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Connected Objects

Oombrella senses the weather, won’t let umbrella loss rain on your parade

Umbrellas are handy to have when it’s raining, but many consumers wind up needing to replace them after leaving them behind in a taxi, on a train, in a restaurant or many other places.

Oombrella is a smart umbrella that alerts users about impending rain and also lets them know if they are about to leave it behind. The device collects real-time data including temperature, pressure, humidity and light. The electronic capsule at the end of it includes sensors that communicate with smartphones via Bluetooth Low Energy technology, allowing users to know if there is an incoming call or other notification.

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Categories
Cell Phone Accessories

Connex provides a cable as its calling card

Conventional data cables are often either too long or too short to reach the devices they are being connected to. Another frequent issue with cables is that they tend to get tangled up –- especially when there is more than one of them.

Connex is a flat universal data cable that’s been pressed into the shape of a credit card. It’s made of durable synthetic silicone that allows it to stretch up to 18 inches and then collapse again when needed. Connex ships in June at $15 for a Micro USB version and $19 for an Apple Lightning connection version. But early bird Kickstarter backers can get them for pledges starting at $9 or $13, respectively. Its makers hope to raise $5,000 by April 18.

This is an enormously handy accessory to have for a wide range of devices. But a version that can stretch more than 18 inches would be even handier for some consumers. Users of devices that don’t use Lightning and Micro USB, including older Apple devices, are out of luck, so more compatibility options would be nice also.

 

Categories
Augmented Reality

Telepathy Walker eyewear lets you follow walking directions, possibly dreams

Navigation on smartphones provides enormous convenience to consumers. But the navigation on those devices -– just like on standalone GPS devices — tends to be designed specifically for driving rather than getting somewhere on foot. The screens on those devices can also be very hard to see while walking when it’s sunny out.

patent-claimedTelepathy Walker is small, Google Glass-like eyewear that’s been specifically designed to provide walking directions. It features a bright screen with patented display technology that enables it to be seen even in bright sunlight. It’s also been designed, unlike other smartglasses, so that the user can see both the screen and the world around them clearly at the same time.

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