Author: Nicholas Echevarria

Categories
Sensors/IoT

Portable AirBeam monitors and reports air quality

Air pollution is a rapidly growing concern all throughout the world. Our dependence on mass production and the use of fossil fuels directly affects the air we breathe no matter where we are, because what is created in another part of the world ultimately travels and gets to us. Even if the problem has the potential to wreck all sorts of havoc on our health, it sadly goes largely ignored because it’s invisible. Although there are government sites where air quality is monitored and recorded, the network is too sparse and dated to provide a full and accurate picture, much less be used as proof in matters of legislation. That’s where the AirBeam comes in.

The AirBeam is a portable arduino-based air quality monitor that continuously monitors the air and sends that data to a smartphone with Bluetooth, feeding it back to the AirCast environmental awareness platform. AirCast crowdsources all of this data from the thousands already using AirBeam to create a robust and extremely accurate picture of air quality. This allows citizen scientists, change makers, and ordinary people to be more informed and make an impact. To be effective, though, the monitor must work all day, a length of time smartphones have trouble staying on for by themselves. In any case, the AirBeams rings in at $199 which may be a bit pricey considering what kind of mass aspirations HabitatMap, the non-profit behind AirBeam and AirCast, has. Backers can start monitoring the air in May of 2015, if the creators reach their $50,000 goal.

Categories
Home

IllumiBowl lights up your toilet for targeted tinkling

The bathroom can be an obstacle course for some in that middle of the night run with blinded eyes, fallen in women, and manly messes made and left. The inventor of the Illumibowl wants to light the way to relief with his LED-based toilet bowl light.

The product can be discretely attached to the underside of the bowl and set to a single color or on a color-changing pattern, with everything activated by a motion sensor. The LED is rated to last 100,000 hours of constant use, so you won’t have to worry about dark and scary trips to the bathroom for a long time. With the Illumibowl only costing $15, this can easily be filed under an impulse buy even if the solution is exactly the most elegant or aesthetically pleasing. Still, the campaign has already achieved its goal of $20,000; backers will receive the light by January 2015.

Categories
Winter Sports

Alpine Hawk will help find your skis or snowboard in the powder

Skiing and snowboarding equipment can be expensive, making the fact that so many are stolen every year a huge problem. Having experienced the misfortune of having their own equipment stolen, the people at AlpineTec have created the AlpineHawk: a small electronic device that attaches to either a snowboard or a pair of skis to prevent theft from ever happening.

Users of the AlpineHawk can arm the device with a companion app, making them feel safe if their equipment is left unattended. It does this by triggering a screeching 100 decibel alarm to go off as a deterrent and if the user is in Bluetooth range, they’ll receive a message alerting them to suspicious activity. A message won’t be sent if you’re not in Bluetooth range which, surprisingly enough, is not that useful. The device’s off-piste feature also allows you to find buried skis, which may convince some this is worth the trouble after all. The AlpineHawk’s polycarbonate shell protects from strong impacts and temperatures ranging from 100°C to -40C° and the entire unit weighs only 50g, so users need not fear an off-balance ride. Even so, the device’s life when subject to such rough conditions has to be tested more thoroughly before the claim can be made. An AlpineHawk is priced at kr250 (~$34) and is expected to be delivered in October of 2015. The campaign is looking for kr600,000 (~$80,600) in funding.

Categories
Imaging

Filmbo is there to capture your extreme stunts

In this day and age, if there isn’t a tweet, status update, image, or video of something you’ve done, it may not have ever happened for all accounts and purposes. The Filmbo dock works with iPhone 4s to 6 Plus models to automatically track and capture either photos or video of movement so that someone else doesn’t have to.

Weighing in at a tiny .35lbs, the Filmbo can swivel 360° and tilt 20° to provide in-focus, clear shots to show off a goal you’ve made or a trick that you’ve finally nailed. Its three recording modes allow for versatility in which kind of images or video you’d want: robotic video mode follows you and continuously captures video, its moment photo mode tracks you specifically and takes photos when it senses big changes in movement or speed, and robotic time-lapse mode follows you and starts time-lapse photos automatically. The device sports a one click activation and lasts for up to eight hours if you don’t consider that it can charge smartphones, too. The Filmbo is fantastic for sports, but oddly only supports iOS and can’t attach a GoPro. Let’s hope that it can at least stand up to the rough wear and tear it will likely experience. One Filmbo is currently going for $99 before it shoots up to its MSRP of $169. The company is looking to raise $70,000 to have the product in the wild by April 2015.

Categories
Connected Objects Music

Wayit combines an app and gadget to let you listen to others’ jams

We’re in an age where sharing pretty much anything is a possibility, giving rise to an entirely new class of devices taking advantage of the technology that allows us to do so. With that in mind, Wayit is letting users share not only music playlists like other services but also exactly what they’re listening to at the moment. The iOS/Android app itself works by syncing to whatever you’re listening to at the moment, making it available to others wanting to jump into the groove with you.

Their Indiegogo campaign is not about the app, though. What Wayit is looking to do is raise $250,000 to complete the production of a companion wearable device that allows users to benefit from proximity to other Wayit users. GPS and proximity sensors would allow friends or strangers to be alerted to other users in their presence, let them listen in to their music, and even have those tunes be influenced by the emotional status of the person listening, possibly facilitating some spontaneous friendships in the process.

The device’s retail price will be $45, but for now backers can grab one for $30. And while that low price may convince some to ignore needing to buy a separate device solely for this feature, it ultimately won’t fly as an extra device on top of everything else we carry has to really be something special and Wayit isn’t that device. Backers can expect their Wayit in April of 2015.

Categories
Connected Objects Toys

Anura drones on about affordable portable aerial photography

Drones are our modern days kites. On a clear day, you can see any number of them whizzing around at the nearby park with kids and adults alike on the ground controlling them. They easily maintain interest and have slowly become more and more accepted, even if most of the time they can be bulky and pretty unwieldy. The folks at Anura want to make it easy to have some flight with you anytime with their Anura drone. It’s only slightly larger than a full size smartphone and weighs in at only 4oz, making it extremely portable to the point that you can place it in your pocket. Instead of a huge remote control, all users need is an iOS/Android phone to stream live images or video with its builtin Wi-Fi, and take advantage of features like one click auto-land and return home for easier use. Unfortunately, your fun will be limited to about 15 minute unless you’re carrying around a few interchangeable batteries, which kind of defeats the purpose. In any case, the Anura drone can be had by April 2015 for $195. The company has achieved their funding goal of $100,000.

Categories
Apparel

QCLIP fits the bill for keeping your baseball hat brim flat

Walk down the streets of pretty much any big city and you’ll notice the scores of fitted hats that people are wearing these days. Adorned with everything from team logos to colorful characters, wearing fitted hats today is a strong fashion statement. But trends, like everything else, don’t stay stagnant. This one in particular has evolved to favor flat, straight brims over the curved brims we’d see in a baseball game, requiring constant care and vigilance to maintain that shape. The QCLIP is a straight, wooden mold that fits over the brim of most hats to maintain that flat shape. The device does is straightforward, light, and can protect a hat even in transportation as well, adding to its versatility. There are many people, like those who sprang for a Live Lid, who would find this simple product to be an extremely useful tool, but they may be turned off by its $50 non-early bird price, especially being that most could MacGuyver themselves a similar solution. The QCLIP campaign is looking for $60,000 to have the device into backer’s hand by January 2015.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories

Smartphone Projector Case lets older iPhones show off their new image

Those old iPhones still need some love too, you know. It can’t be right to throw them off to the side after they’ve faithfully served us for so long, can it? Instead of chucking it to the side, reconsider its value while attached to the Iron Man of phone cases: the Smartphone Case Projector.

Although the product might be a little too simplistically titled, it gets a little tricky depending on which iPhone model you have. The iPhone 4/4S version of the case comes equipped with a built-in .5W speaker, a modest 15 lumen lamp, and projects images or video on up to 50″ surface. The iPhone 5/5S version of the case is a lot more versatile, equipped with a brighter 50 lumen lamp that can wirelessly project images, videos, and even Internet pages for up to two hours while simultaneously being able to dock and charge it. The case is in good company as many other products are exploring the hybrid projector model, like the Yoga Tablet 2 Pro.

Unfortunately, the creator didn’t have Tony Stark’s sense of design and, as a result, the Smartphone Projector Case is a behemoth that wouldn’t realistically pass most people’s limits of bulk, especially for just a single feature like projection. If the case still intrigues, the iPhone 4/4S version goes for $200, while the iPhone 5/5S version goes for $300. The campaign is seeking $100,000 to make this longshot a reality.

Categories
Cycling Imaging

INDIGLO saves handlebar space by doubling up action cam mounts

Bicycles are fast becoming the favored mode of transportation in large, urban cities. With this increased favor comes the inevitable support of both larger companies and DIY crowd in making their ride more effective and useful. In particular, the glut of GPS devices and action cameras like the GoPro have offered riders ways to make their rides more efficient and plain fun but at the cost of handlebar space — there can only be so many attachments!

With their dual handlebar mount, INDIGLO is letting you reclaim your handlebar space and get back to riding comfortably. The mount is installed without much fuss by just using the flexible clamp bands; the top being compatible with a wide-range of Garmin GPS devices and the bottom compatible with GoPro, Garmin Virb, and Shimano Cameras. Users can also install the INDIGLO5, the company’s own flashlight as well. What the INDIGLO dual mount does, it does simply. The campaign is hoping to raise $5,000 AUD (~$4,300 USD) for success. The product is going for $50 AUD with a ship date of February 2015.

Categories
Automotive Connected Objects

Drivebot joins the car diagnostics club

It’s interesting to see the types of emotions we harbor towards the vehicles in our lives. We silently appreciate their hard and diligent work taking us where we need to go everyday until the day comes where they breaks down, where we then proceed to generate a maelstrom of foul language and intense hatred for forcing us to spend ridiculous sums of money to fix them.

Although having a car is heavy financial responsibility, with the Drivebot it doesn’t have to be so expensive. Billed as a Fitbit for your car, the Bluetooth-enabled dongle connects to your car’s On-Board Diagnostic II port and continuously monitors problems in their earliest stages before they become worse, ballooning in cost. It also helps by reminding you of maintenance requirements and analyzing your driving patterns to save you time, gas, and money. Onboard flash storage stores two months of trip data which can be exported as documents to claim taxes on, tacking on the savings. For $75, the Drivebot can be yours in February of 2015. The campaign is attempting to reach a $35,000 goal.