Author: Nicholas Echevarria

Categories
Connected Objects Safety

Haven is a brace on Earth to complement your deadbolt

Smart locks may have made a splash and added convenience to many people’s home lives, but the fact still remains that they rely on deadbolts to protect your home. It has been proven that deadbolts are an outdated form of protection because with enough force, the blunt end of a hammer and a bump key, or just simply a credit card, those who want access to your home will most certainly get it.

HAVEN is a smart lock that works by being installed at the base of a door and using the house’s own frame as the deterrent rather than a deadlock. Being made from glass reinforced nylon, aluminum and steel allows for far more protection versus other deadlock-dependent solutions, with a door in the campaign shown withstanding brute force kicks, sledgehammers and axes. When excessive force is recognized, HAVEN can turn on other connected parts of your home through Nest and Apple HomeKit compatibility and send alerts to mobile devices in response. When there isn’t trouble brewing, the product’s wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity allow users to digitally share keys and either locally or remotely lock their doors using their iOS or Android smartphone. Lost your phone? An online access portal can help you maintain access of your home. The people behind the HAVEN Smart Lock are looking for $150,00o to make their goal a reality, with significant stretch goals which include an A/C power add-on and wearable gesture support, to entice would-be backers. Interested people can protect their home by pledging $249 or more.

HAVEN is an shot in the arm for the smart lock market. Its robustness in protecting the home along with its connectivity and control options make its involved installation easier to bear. Other smart locks, like the August and the Goji, emphasize the social aspect rather actually protecting the home — HAVEN tells them to put their money where their mouths are.

Categories
Imaging

fps1000 keeps the price low for the super slow-mo pro

If you haven’t yet seen the YouTube video of a shark shooting out of water as it goes after its prey, you should — it’s a beaut. But that piece of fantastic videography wouldn’t have been possible without the wonders of high-speed imaging, something that would be more widespread if it weren’t for the complex setups and intense memory demands of the equipment necessary to capture it. Just a 1 second video at VGA resolution and 1,000 fps requires an incredible 400 MBytes of very high speed memory  — and that’s just on the lower end of things!

Compelled to find a more accessible solution, inventor Graham Rowan labored to create the fps1000, a super portable camera capable of taking videos of between 75fps and 18,000fps. The camera also features a touch screen LCD screen along with the standard C mount so that a wide variety of lenses can be equipped. There are three different versions of the fps1000: Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Their prices range from £349 to £999, which may still seem pricey but is much better than comparable setups. With the campaign having blown past it’s funding goal of £20,000, many seem to agree.

Categories
Maker/Development

Pocket 3D Printer lets you make it where you take it

3D printing is steadily gaining steam. However, with printers still going for absurd amounts of money and looking like washing machines, they aren’t going mainstream anytime soon. This is the biggest roadblock to 3D printers being thought of in the same vein as fridges and microwaves but as time marches on, cost is reduced and along with that, size. Inventor Steve Middleton picked up on that trend and skipped a few levels with his Indiegogo campaign for his Pocket 3D Printer.

No bigger than an iPad mini, the device is a fully functioning, honest to goodness 3D printer that you can take along with you in a purse or book bag. At first blush, this looks to be impossible, but with the device using photo-polymer resin that is instantly cured using an UV LED at the tip of it’s printing arm. This means no heat is given off nor any cool down period to wait for after you’re done using it! Its 1 button start-up, rechargeable battery, and Bluetooth connectivity ensure users can truly print whenever you want using whichever device they’d like. The campaign is looking for $25,000 to get started with production; potential backers can grab the unassembled version for $249, and the assembled version for $349.

This isn’t the first 3D printer using photo-polymer resin coupled with UV light as we’ve seen the CreoPop before, but it’s the first that isn’t limited to a pen form factor. Potential users will get much versatility out of a product like this — imagine printing out spare parts for a device, a broken purse clasp, etc? The Pocket 3D Printer can be something special provided you don’t end up having to print parts for it instead.

Categories
Connected Objects Cycling

Bikers make sure those trailing them get the message with 8rlicht

For years, cyclists have sought out ways to make themselves safer on the road because the lights most bikes come equipped with just don’t cut it. They’re extremely small and only work when light is shone on them, limiting their overall usability and putting riders in undue danger when riding at night.

8Rlicht is a smart taillight with 140 LEDs on a rather large display that ensures your ride will never be safer. The product reacts to sudden braking, lighting up to alert drivers behind you — a powerful feature. In addition, show off customizable patterns and text on that display using the companion smartphone apps compatible on iOS or Android. In addition, the unit’s onboard Bluetooth connectivity and many sensors allows it some other tricks as well.

With Bluetooth, OTA updates are possible so that you can update software capable of tracking calories or setting up competitions between you and friends, as well as alerting you when the bike is being stolen. And when you’re wandering back to your bike and have no clue where it is, 8Rlicht lights up to your presence provided you also have your smartphone with you. The asking price of €49 is stellar but the funding goal of €200,000will be a stretch for this connected taillight

The product is no slouch on features but certainly has room for more, despite the folks behind the product not saying much about that. And with this dangling off the back of your bike, it makes a prime target for thieves.

Categories
Television

MatchStick hopes to catch fire like its Chromecast rival

Since the Chromecast’s runaway success, scores of companies have created their own version, or changed the dimensions of their existing set top streamers to better suit the now popular dongle look. The proprietary nature of most systems and the need to find some sort of workaround is a problem. This sort of problem presents roadblocks to the average consumer that they’re not willing or capable to negotiate.

This means that Matchstick, a new streaming dongle powered by Mozilla Firefox OS, has to be something truly special to catch people’s attention. And for the most part, it does. The small stick is a completely new product category for the OS, standing apart with its completely open platform that will work with any device. You can download the design schematics to build your own version or use a versatile developer SDK to grow the platform; the company’s developer program supplies interested parties with prototype models, ensuring that will happen.

It doesn’t rest on its laurels with just those points. Its hardware is a move up from competing devices: bragging 4GB onboard storage and 1GB DDR3 memory where the Chromecast has none enables it to do everything other streamers do with just a bit more pep. Chromecast will need to play catch-up because a quick recompile will make current Chromecast apps compatible with Matchstick.

There’ll be a rather small assortment of apps at launch, like Netflix and HBO Go, compared to the rest of the big players already enjoying a broader range. With Airtame working similarly across all devices and being able to beam to multiple displays, Biggifi a full Android experience but only working with Android, and the premium priced Sugarcube able to stream 4K, the Matchstick has plenty of competition. Its $100,000 goal and $18 price tag will definitely give it a better shot at success.

Categories
Personal Transportation

Atlas Throttle lock works like a pen for motorcycle cruise control

Long motorcycle trips are cumbersome mainly because riders have to keep up the throttle so that they can accelerate to their desired speed. Aftermarket solutions, like throttle locks and cruise control systems, are available to deal with this issue but most work with only very specific models of motorcycle, require drilling or other custom fabrication to install, and are ultimately awkward to use. In addition, since the installation is permanent, it’s lost when the bike is sold.

Inspired by his difficulties during a 28 country motorcycle tour, inventor David Winters created the ATLAS Throttle Lock. This product addresses the awkwardness of other throttle locks by being as thin as two bank cards while still being able to be used with a wide range of handle grips. (There’s a 100% money back guarantee included with the product if it doesn’t fit.) With a single, comfortable button press, riders can engage ATLAS and quickly disengage it with another button press or by rotating the accelerator. All these points add promise to the product provided it will hold up over time, an aspect in question with its thin design. An early bird special shaves $64 off the retail price; interested backers can grab one and help this campaign reach its funding goal of $11,200.

Categories
Cell Phone Accessories Imaging

Little Occhio pairs with your smartphone to explore the microscopic

Many inventors and companies alike are catching onto the smartphone’s potential as an intermediary between the people who use them and the microscopic world alien to us. Smartphones can add a new dimension to a microscope, freeing us from the shackles of bulky, cumbersome equipment and letting us wander into the world and discover nature as it was truly intended — provided, of course, we have the right tools to do so. Luckily, Little Occhio is aiming to be that tool.

This product is a portable micro-cam that lets users see the world around them, wherever they happen to be. Users can then share what they see with an app that transmits photos and videos at 30fps to up to 10 smart devices at range of up to 50ft, making Little Occhio equally versatile for families and classrooms alike. The app also acts as a control, letting you focus the camera among other adjustments. It does this with its own built-in Ad-Hoc Wi-fi mode, generating its own connection so that smart devices in the vicinity can connect. In addition, LED lights are prominently featured as a way to continue discovering more as night sets in so long as the built-in rechargeable battery is powered enough to keep going.

The Little Occhio has promise, despite its $145 price tag. The upside to the price, though, are the included sharing features which trump other similar products like the Microscobe and the Micro Phone Lens. The company is looking for a cool $35,000 to start manufacturing — let’s hope it goes off without a hitch.

Categories
Cycling

Quick Caps provide convenient security for your bike

Bike security is the foremost concern for cyclists around the world. Making sure someone doesn’t make off with your precious ride is difficult, especially if the bike in question has quick release wheels. Despite having to carry an additional lock for the front tire, many people choose this kind of wheel for the sheer convenience of being able to quickly take it off at a moment’s notice. After numerous years of doing just that, inventor Curtis Dorrington created Quick Caps, a product that eliminates the hassle while retaining the quick release wheel’s convenience.

Quick Caps is a small, weatherproof lock that fits around the quick release lock’s lever itself, preventing anyone who would be daring enough to try from doing so. With the product being made from marine-grade aluminum and requiring 900Nm of force to break, even attempting the feat is a tall order. The product’s 51g weight will be a welcome relief to anyone that has been looking for this sort of solution, so ponying up just £10 (or £14 if you happen to have the wrong type of quick release) will be an easy decision. The creator is looking for a £15,000 infusion to start mass production.

Categories
Food and Beverage

Splash Infuser drops in to add flavoring to water

Sugary beverages are the bane of many people’s diets, adding an entirely unnecessary amount of sugar to their daily intake everyday. We’re recommended about 40g of sugar a day, but most drinks have 10 times that amount. Many drinks also come laden with unsafe chemicals in plastic containers made with harmful materials, compounding the issue even more. Companies have tried marketing infused water as an alternative to unhealthy drinks, but even those can prove unsafe.

The people over at Cardboard Helicopter have long considered these problems and have created the Splash Infuser in response. It takes the form of a small container with holes large enough to let muddled fruit mingle with water without letting a bunch of seeds into the drink. Made from BPA-free, food grade plastic ensures that no unwanted chemicals find their way into your infused drink as well, whether it be water or alcoholic in nature. The company has already ironed out the model but needs $15,000 to start a large production run. Just $15 gets you in the door to all the watery infused goodness you can handle.

Categories
Personal Transportation

Ion Smartscooter looks like non-electric models, gets you on your way

The last miles of any commute are some of the most painful. Who wants to walk twenty minutes at the very beginning of the day or after having worked eight hours every day? Although there are some solutions, bikes and scooters are either too bulky to transport easily or too dirty in terms of fuel.

Probity Cell LLC has created the ion SmartScooter as a low-cost, clean alternative that will get you where you need to go, fast. It’s top speed of 15mph is powered by a lithium-ion battery that charges in three and a half hours and lasts for more than 1,000 cycles, ensuring a long and sustainable life. In addition, its foldable nature makes it so that it can be more easily transported than a bike, especially because it only weighs 26 pounds. The ion SmartScooter joins scads of other personal transportation devices like the Me-Mover and Halfbike.

The company is starting off slow with just two production runs, but they want to minimize any issues through their Kickstarter campaign. They were aiming for a modest $40,000 to do so, a goal that has shown interest by many. If they’re able to back up their claim of squeezing 500 miles out of the scooter for less than a dollar’s worth of electricity, they’ll be able to convince many more to grab one of their own for the introductory price of $399.