Author: Nicholas Echevarria

Categories
Music Video Games

Mogees Play makes the world your musical instrument

editors-choiceOne reason why music programs around the country are cutting back is the cost associated with purchasing equipment. Instruments are expensive
and until now, were the only real way to truly engage a student’s musical faculties.

In creating the Mogees Play, UK-based music and technology company Mogees is aiming to bring musical instruction to everyday classrooms and life without needing instruments, controllers, joysticks, or keyboards. How? A small sensor serves as the connection between tablets or smartphones and any object at all — a wall, a book, a table, even another person. Depending on how a user interacts with that object — a bump, a tap, a scratch — Mogees Play reads those vibrations and transforms them into different musical effects.

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Connected Objects Music

The GoDJ Plus is a lightweight DJ system that still drops tons of bass

Being a DJ is a glamorous job, filled with the people, parties, and music that would make anyone jealous of the lifestyle. But truly doing a great job means knowing music history and having the right equipment at the ready. The problem is that all of that equipment together usually ends up being heavy and awkward to effectively move around.

The advent of tablets have been great at lightening a DJ’s load but lack all the physicality of a true DJ deck. Enter the GoDJ Plus, a fully featured, portable DJ system that’s the size of A4 paper with a weight of just under two pounds to match. The sleekly designed, aluminum system sports two decks with two screens, two sets of LED-backlit pads, and a full set of tools from an EQ to a sampler to a sequencer. Interestingly, the GoDJ Plus doesn’t require a smartphone or a laptop to operate. Instead, 16GB of internal storage and an SD card slot lets DJs load in their own music or download songs from major streaming services using the device’s Wi-Fi connectivity, with dedicated CPUs within dedicated to each track, hardware, and software for optimal performance.

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Categories
Technology Video Games

The PGS portable gaming system goes way beyond catching Pokemon

Hardcore PC gamers are in a tough spot. They can either choose to stay indoors and play the most popular AAA titles on powerful, custom-built rigs designed to bring for the very best performance, or relegate themselves to handhelds and tablets that offer comparatively sub-par gaming experiences. For the PC master race, that’s not much of an option.

Despite its uninspired name, the team behind the PGS — short for Portable Gaming System — is looking give PC gamers an actual choice when it comes to moving and gaming. Luckily, it sports a sleek, 1.4cm thick design that looks like a PS Vita and Nintendo 3DS had a child — a scarily intelligent, capable child. The dual-screen, foldable device comes in two variants. The PGS Hardcore has a QHD IPS 2560×1440 display, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD. Both use the Intel Atom Z8750 designed for high-performance portable devices, allowing both to run games like Dark Souls II and Batman: Arkham City on medium settings, satisfying the most ardent gamer’s urges to take on that next boss no matter where they may be.

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Categories
Smart Home Travel

The portable Securmate is a security system for wherever you need it

For those with enough determination, the mechanical locks that are supposed to protect most people usually fail to when it really counts. This is not many households have any kind of home security. One of other biggest reasons why is because traditionally, home security companies target those in permanent living situations.

The Securmate portable home security system changes that trend. The portable security system is comprised of a palm-sized sensor with a motion detector within and a controller. First, the controller — a small Android device running the Securmate app — is plugged into a wall outlet or USB port. Second, the wireless sensor is attached to a door or window with the provided double-sided tape. Finally, the user arms the system using the controllers, creating a Wi-Fi intranet that covers and protects most small- to medium-sized spaces.

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Connected Objects

Keep your digital eye on the stove at all times with TOCH Smarturns

In the home, everyone has the expectation of being safe. But dangers, however controlled, can still find ways to strike. This is especially true in the kitchen, where the majority of fires are caused by unattended cooking. There are devices that make fridges and washers smarter: the TOCH Smarturns does the same for stoves.

patent-claimedTOCH Smarturns automatically monitors the activity within the area around a stove when the burners are on by replacing one of its knobs with an intelligent one and working together with a motion sensor. When a user walks away from the stove for an extended period while the burners are still on, the system will first alert them through an alarm from the separately connected hub along with a mobile phone notification to return to the unattended stove.

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Categories
Imaging Robots/Drones

Forget boring 2-in-1s: the DRONOID 3-in-1 drone is where it’s at

Playing with technology is a fantastic way to encourage kids to learn. Most of the time, though, these educational opportunities keep children indoors, marring otherwise positive development within the confines of a small classroom.

No one said the wonders of technology and the great outdoors are mutually exclusive. In fact, the team behind the DRONOID modular drone is trying to make the case with its newest creation. The modular drone can be converted into three separate vehicles: a rover with large wheels to quickly cover distance, a tread-equipped tank that can cover all kinds of difficult terrain and, of course, a flying drone to take awesome photos with using an optional HD camera attachment.

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Connected Objects Imaging

The Nico360’s tiny frame streams everything around you

From action sports to brand activations, there is really nowhere 360° doesn’t work. It’s enjoyable, effective, and adds a new dimension to family outings, sporting events, and a bunch other gatherings and get together. And while the equipment needed to produce quality 360° footage is shrinking, there’s always the possibility for even smaller form factors.

Jim Huang out of Hong Kong is chasing the very smallest form factor with the Nico360, a square-shaped camera that packs a lot into its tiny size. Its crowning achievement is a 32MP sensor that allows for 1440p WQHD 360° video recording that, combined with a 5G Wi-Fi radio, allows users to live stream 360° video.

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Connected Objects

Connected Bagel tape measure is high on functionality, low in carbs

In 2016, every single thing we come across is more than likely connected to the internet. Over the last few years, the crowdfunding world has made sure of that, touching everything from the kitchen oven to thermoses. One outlier is measuring tape, a tool people still use every single day for pretty important reasons despite its unwieldiness.

Bagel Labs, Inc. is out to right this oversight with its charmingly-named Bagel connected tape measure. The cleanly designed tool three measuring modes, voice memo capability, and mobile app connectivity for a device that’s simple to use. The String mode is the first, used to measure short distances along lines and curves and around corners. The self-titled Wheel mode is perfect for irregular and odd-shaped surfaces and can be used with one hand to measure up to 33 feet. Finally, the Remote mode takes advantage of a laser pointer and the device’s built-in standing support to perfectly measure straight distances to objects too far out of reach.

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Categories
Connected Objects Cycling

The BluBel connected bike bell gives routes a familiar ring

Cycling is one of life’s great joys, especially because it’s free to do and offers cyclists who do it often a wide-range of health benefits. However, getting from A to B hasn’t always been the easiest part of it all, forcing those on the move to stop to consult a map or a smartphone for directions, ultimately ruining the fun.

Blubel is a satellite navigation system built within a bike bell. Riders input their destination into Blubel’s companion iOS/Android app and leads riders to their destination using a set of LEDs. On the way, a set of lights indicates a right turn and another indicates a left turn, both of which are prefaced by an audible ping to indicate one is coming up. When close to a destination, a steady LED lights up and acts as a compass. What sets Bluebel apart, though, is its crowdsourced mapping.

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Connected Objects Kids/Babies

The Snowfox trackerphone keeps your little cubs safe

editors-choiceBack before the advent of smartphones, kids used to go to this thing called “outside.” In this magical place, anything was possible. There were usually other kids out there, too, and together they were only limited by their imaginations. Times have certainly changed. Now, screens dominate children’s attention at the same time, parents can’t possibly imagine their children going off to do something by themselves anymore.

At the end of the day, parents would consider letting their child explore the world by themselves, but buying them a smartphone to keep track is an expensive proposition. This is why the Snowfox, a pendant-like trackerphone designed exclusively for children, is such a cool idea. Since it has a built-in SIM card and GPS, guardians can use a companion iOS/Android app to keep an eye on their little ones, receive push notifications if they leave home or school, and even call them if need be.

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