Author: Nicholas Echevarria

Categories
Connected Objects Luggage and Bags

The Travelmate suitcase stalks you through airports

One of the biggest hassles involved with flying involves the huge suitcases people have to lug over the course of the entire trip. The bigger they are, the more unwieldy it is to actually travel with, making the already exhausting process of traveling even more of an exercise.

For all those people ready to lighten the load, the Travelmate is the perfect solution. It’s the first suitcase that can follow users around autonomously using a combination of two rugged and two precise wheels with AI learning. Along with its ability to process data from other Travelmates, the robotic suitcase can easily navigate crowds of people and other obstacles it encounters in a vertical or horizontal driving mode. A slew of other helpful features rounds out the product.

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Connected Objects Cooking Food and Beverage

The Juicero takes juicing to a new level

While pressing vegetables and fruits into delicious, nutritious juice is an appealing prospect, all the work that goes into the process isn’t. From buying all the ingredients, washing them, putting together a juicer, using a juice, and then finally cleaning everything up, it’s honestly quite the hassle. That’s where the Juicero comes in.

The Juicero streamlines the process of juicing by combining raw cold press technology with no-mess pouches filled with organic fruit and vegetables sourced, inspected, washed, packaged and delivered by the Juicero company. In using tremendous force without creating heat, the Juicero extracts all the good stuff from live fruits and vegetables for nutrient-dense juice in a much quicker process.

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Maker/Development

PocketMaker 3D offers 3D printing for pocket change

The concept of 3D printing brings to mind images of large, very technical machines designed to print out intricate creations. The PocketMaker 3D is here to prove that smaller printers can be as good.

The small, almost handheld printer can be a low-cost introduction to the world of 3D printing or an addition to an experienced maker’s 3D printing arsenal. With it, users can either wirelessly transfer their own custom 3D models from their computers to the device or select a model from dozens of options in the PocketMaker 3D’s companion iOS/Android app. No matter how it’s done, the printer can spit out something practical like an ashtray or something more decorative like a Mickey Mouse figurine.

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Categories
Connected Objects Cooking

The CHiP is a dedicated cookie oven for sweet teeth

Cookie: Merely saying or writing the word instantly conjures up pleasing thoughts of chewy goodness. One can never go wrong with set of freshly baked cookies, which is why the team behind the CHiP wants to bring it to kitchens everywhere.

The CHiP smart cookie oven does one thing and one thing well: Perfectly bake cookies in under 10 minutes. It does this with its QuickConvect Air Flow System that uses a four-inch convection fan to blow hot air through special air channels, not only ensuring the tastiest cookies but also energy efficiency in baking them. Now by itself, this would make the CHiP no better than a standard oven, especially since it only can bake cookies. But combined with its companion app, users can set various baking modes sporting varying schedules and, more crucially, order ‘cookie pods’ similar to the coffee capsules used by products from companies like Nespresso.

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Categories
Networking

Hose down your digital connections with the Hosen network security hub

As the world is inundated more and more with connected objects, more and more personal information is at risk. The worst part about it: most don’t have a clue what information of theirs is actually at risk!

The Hosen is a virtual castle moat for your information, effectively filtering all the connections being made to and from every single device on your network for malware, advertising, viruses and hacking attempts. Hosen gives users a dashboard to make keeping track of every single connection easy using just a few taps, with the ability for users to block or authorize any of them as they see fit.

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Categories
Imaging Smart Home

The Mercu smart home orb falls short of groundbreaking

On any given day, another product promising to be the center of the connected home experience makes its way to the crowdfunding world. Most of the time, they suffer from lack of connectivity and features, forcing users to combine them with accessories to truly get the most out of them.

With the Mercu, Taiwan-based GalaThings promises an all-in-one product combining surveillance capabilities, sound and motion detection for intruders (and a siren to scare them off), and environmental detection keeping tabs on humidity, temperature, luminance, and smoke. In addition to these features, three other aspects of the Mercu make it particularly useful: Wi-Fi, ZigBee and BLE support, the option to save pertinent video locally with its SD card slot or on cloud storage with Dropbox integration, and an IFTTT interface on its companion smartphone to create custom events.

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Categories
Toys

The Trickstick tricks the eye into seeing colorful treats

POV technology, otherwise known as persistence of vision technology, exploits the eyes penchant for completing images even without all the necessary information. Movies were built on that principle, having allowed generations of people to experience a new form of entertainment that is still dominant today.

The Trickstick by Electricks takes the idea of POV and applies it to an unassuming wand. Wave it quickly enough, though, and 128 LEDs work together to produce 60fps images that can be uploaded to it with the use of a companion iOS/Android app.

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Connected Objects Imaging

Any canvas can be a masterpiece with the SprayPrinter

editors-choice-300x96As much as people would like to change it, artistic merit evades most. And while it’s is easy to grab some supplies and a canvas and get to work, lack of ability ends up discouraging people rather quickly. What if a tool existed that could allow anyone to be creative, easily? That’s what the SprayPrinter is.

The SprayPrinter is an accessory that attaches to a spray can and wirelessly interfaces with a smartphone or tablet to allow users to spray any image onto any surface. A user simply sets up the smart device on a tripod or other stand facing the canvas to guide the SprayPrinter and then gets to work. The SprayPrinter then understands exactly where to paint, barring users from ever making mistakes. In the end, a beautiful pre-selected or custom image is printed, making the SprayPrinter perfect for gift-giving, decorating or just having some fun. 

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Connected Objects

The Time Key Money Box helps keep your paws off your cash

Saving money is something everyone needs to do but most find difficult to actually put into practice. And while there are numerous strategies to better do so, they all have one thing in common: willpower. Without it, none of them work and that rainy day fund is never properly set up.

Born out of the common difficulties that stem from saving money, the Time Key Money Box is a connected jar that allows users to set a financial goal and a length of time. In that period of time, the Time Key cannot be opened, forcing savers to actually save money irregardless of whatever whim might tempt them to open it up. The jar is big enough to hold at 500 two-pound coins, so the rewards are indeed worth the wait, especially since the product’s companion app allows users to set savings reminders to better keep on track.

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Categories
Connected Objects Tools

The 01 is number one at measuring the world around you

Despite the action of measuring being vital to pretty much every industry, the tools used to do so are woefully outdates. Now, with the 01, the tape measure gets a 21st-century makeover.

The 01 is a combination laser-guided measuring tool, pen, pencil and stylus all wrapped in an elegant and slim aliminum housing. Created with designers, engineers, architects and even the average joe in mind, the 01 can be used to accurately capture the dimensions of any surface or object. For example, at work it can be used to quickly log the length, width and height of an object in any metric (millimeters, inches, etc.), measure complex contours and even be used with a scale to read drawings better. And at home, it cames in handy when dimensioning spaces for furniture, setting up a grid for posters, or even measuring material for installation.

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