Author: Nicholas Echevarria

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Connected Objects Cycling

The Shoka connected bike bell gives the handlebar a handle on more

Cycling has never been easier nor more connected due to the plethora of gadgets attempting to be crowdfunded that help both lead and light the way. Still, there;s always room for more innovation, a challenge that continues to push small teams to create new, fun form factors like the Shoka Bell.

Like others, the Shoka Bell is a connected bike bell that helps cyclists find their way, light their path, alert others, and alert them to possible theft. Users can consult its companion app to find the safest routes from point A to point B, made safer by real-time updates from other Shoka Bell users. (It also lets users consult routes taken by friends, see anyone nearby, and upload pictures to Instagram, too.) And since it’s equipped with eight front-facing LEDs, the path to point B is made clear without blinding others in the process.

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Apparel Connected Objects

Save your swing with the IOFIT connected golf shoes

The pursuit of the perfect swing on the green is the goal of every budding golfer out there. Countless hours are spent chasing it, usually with an expensive coach nearby. But while the team behind the IOFIT can’t compete with the value a coach provides, it sure can help.

The company’s self-titled IOFIT connected golf shoes is its attempt. In creating lightweight, breathable golf shoes equipped with waterproof pressure sensors, users wearing them can track balance and weight shift while taking a swing. Bluetooth connectivity pushes this data to IOFIT’s iOS and Android companion app to provide real-time feedback, summarizing a user’s statistics and providing actionable insights to improve their game.

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Cell Phone Accessories Imaging

The Walabot DIY gives you X-ray vision for smooth home projects

The spark of DIY inspiration sparks everyone every now and then. The problem lies in actually executing it. Even those who are a lot more handy have trouble making sure an important pipe isn’t ruptured or wire isn’t cut, making even the smallest mistake a costly one.

Luckily, the Walabot DIY is here to help. The device attaches to an Android phone and allows users to “see” into concrete and drywall at a depth of up to four inches to reveal the plastic and metal pipes, electrical wires, studs and even movement within.

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Connected Objects

The mighty Vaultek employs Bluetooth to keep valuables safe

To protect what matters most, many people resort to big, bulky safes that weigh a ton and employ analog methods of entry that are usually pretty time consuming. But these days, connected devices are all the rage — so why not a safe?

That’s the question the team behind the Bluetooth-connected Vaultek safe asked, and the result was a lightweight, carbon-steel unibody safe outfitted with anti-pry bars, protected hinges, and anti-impact latches for maximum protection. With the Vaultek, users have multiple ways to access their valuables: a five-digit numeric keypad, a biometric fingerprint scanner, or by using its companion smartphone app for a remote unlock.

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Connected Objects Kids/Babies Toys

Wordee uses light to help budding wordsmiths master lingo

Technology has never been more prevalent than it is now, especially for the children who, at younger and younger ages, are exposed to more and more of it. But instead of subscribing to the idea that technology ultimately harms childhood development, Tokyo-based JellyWare Inc. wants to embrace it instead with Wordee.

Wordee is an educationally-minded robot that, put simply, draws with light. This unique hook is made possible through Wordee’s use of LEDs that blink in certain patterns that are absorbed by a phosphorescent sheet. This allows the device to “print” out words and phrases that persist for a few seconds before fading away.

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Fitness

The Specter brightens up your nighttime runs, one flailing arm at a time

With the rising popularity of nighttime exercises comes a higher rate of accidents. Despite this, many choose not to wear safety gear because they tend to be aesthetically offensive. Therefore, the team at Niports Inc. created the Specter.

The Specter is a lightweight aluminum band studded with LEDs that displays images and messages that can be selected or created using the companion Specter app, perfect for keeping active types visible at night. But the LEDs don’t just display the message themselves. Rather, when the band is moved, it creates a streak of light that forms the image or message using the eye’s penchant for stringing together images — similar to how it does with frames in a movie.

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Food and Beverage

With the Alchema and fruit, it’s always wine o’clock

There’s nothing quite like the revitalizing, crisp taste of a freshly made drink. The problem lies in having the right equipment and time available to create these drinks. While home brewed beer is possible, it’s a lengthy and involved process that most won’t want to get into.

Luckily, when it comes to cider, a jug of store bought fruity goodness isn’t the only choice. With the Alchema, anyone is able to create fresh cider by following a pretty straightforward process. The airtight yet sleekly designed contraption first sanitizes the jug. After, users can throw in their favorite fruits and other ingredients along with packets of yeast in order to begin the fermentation process. In one to two weeks, a pitcher of certified delicious cider is ready for a user’s next get-together. Cider isn’t the only thing Alchema can create. Give it just a week and it can cook up some mead. If time is on your side, throw in some grapes and wait 16 weeks for the ultimate in sophistication: wine.

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Categories
Connected Objects

The Like-o-Meter gives Facebook updates the thumbs up

By now, Facebook has become a part of normal, everyday life for 1.7 billion people and businesses around the world, a testament to the company’s original vision of connecting the globe. Still, people who use Facebook fall into two camps: those for whom it plays a very cursory role, and those for whom Facebook is an essential part of their social and professional lives.

For the latter, the idea of more wholly integrating the Facebook experience into their real-world isn’t one that scares them, which is why the Like-o-Meter is a campaign that would appeal to them. It brings the well-known ‘Like’ icon into the real-world, wirelessly connecting to a user’s Facebook account and physically moving its high-quality plastic thumb to signal a fresh like.

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Categories
Smartwatches/Bands

The Ticwatch 2 smartwatch responds to your sweet caress

Apple’s foray into the smartwatch market has shown how difficult it truly is to create something that has broad appeal. Of course, style and functionality are critical for this, but so is a more approachable price.

The Ticwatch 2 attacks all this head on, much to the excitement of the true smartwatch believers out there. First off, it boasts a wide range of apps, with more available on its own Ticwear app store. And these apps work in tandem with the many ways the Ticwatch 2 makes available to interact with it. For instance, a double flick of the wrist gesture picks up a phone call, while doing it again ends it. Quality voice control is also prevalent, allow users to query Yelp for a good restaurant nearby or call an Uber. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg: the Ticwatch 2 also tracks fitness, controls music, and even finds a phone if necessary. 

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Imaging Robots/Drones

The Jimble surveillance bot is a pregnant hoverboard that patrols your home

Much to the chagrin of the most ardent futurists, the world is still a long way off from robots being a commonplace fixture in everyday life. Still, that’s not stopping companies from trying their hardest to jumpstart the trend, especially when it comes to home security.

Despite its claim of being the “first”. the Jimble smart moving surveillance robot is another entry in a long line of vaguely similar products offering the protective benefits of a wheeled robot in the hom,  (A quick search on Backerjack immediately pokes a hole in that claim.) Looking a bit like a sawed-off Segway, Jimble doesn’t do anything spectacularly different from other surveillance robots. Like others, it has an HD camera that users can peer into their homes with supplemented by a mic to talk to whoever may be around using Wi-Fi to facilitate a first person view for users on their smart devices.

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