Categories
Imaging

ScopeAround lets you sneak around small spaces to shoot video

Even the smallest of consumer video cameras can’t fit into small spaces like under a sink to find a leak or into a mouth to spot a cavity. ScopeAround, however, is a smart Wi-Fi video camera designed to fit in tight spaces and view small objects.

patent-claimedThe 1080p HD camera features interchangeable camera heads and smart device connectivity for devices including Android and iOS mobile devices, as well as PCs. The three camera heads include The Flexible endoscope, Focus microscope and Fit side view camera head. Flexible has a camera only 5.5 mm in diameter. Focus features a 150:1 zoom and includes two clips on the device’s stationary tray to hold subjects for viewing.

Categories
Connected Objects Cycling Imaging

Camile is an all-in-one bike computer for cycling enthusiasts

While a good, old-fashioned bike ride is always enjoyable, cycling devices no doubt make them better by offering niceties like location tracking and metric monitoring. Combined with action cameras, though, and a bike’s handlebar soon looks cluttered.

MiniWing’s Camile is a combination cycling device that incorporates a GPS module, a cycling computer measuring speed, altitude and distance, and a 1080p camera that boasts a 140° field of vision that records either 30 fps or time-lapse shots. Up to three hours of video can be recorded on its 32GB onboard storage, videos that can be shared to social media thanks to its built-in Wi-Fi antenna.

Categories
Imaging Smart Home

Spot is a low-cost, feature-rich camera for the connected home

Home security cameras have a bit of a reputation of lacking the kinds of features worthy of the excessive prices they’ve demanded. Seeing an opportunity, there have been a rash of companies looking to make better money by advertising a better product. iSmartAlarm is hoping their version of a lower cost yet versatile smart home camera will strike a chord with consumers looking for a better value.

Spot has all the expected features for a product in this category: HD-resolution video, night vision, sound and motion detection, push notifications, and both cloud and local storage supporting up to a 64GB micro SD card. The company tries to set its product apart in two ways.

Categories
Imaging Sensors/IoT

Flail your arms to control apps in-home with ZKOO gesture camera

Leap Motion made a splash a few years ago when it debuted a fascinating add-on product for Macs and PCs that allowed anyone to interface with their devices via gestures. But since it only worked for Macs and PC, the number of situations in which it was truly useful was limited.

Exvision’s ZKOO gesture-tracking camera is touted as the most advanced in the world, but truth be told it doesn’t do much more the Leap Motion can. Using a camera that tracks motion at 100 frames per second it is able to deliver a gesture-tracking experience that boast low latency for both PCs and Android devices, working with hundreds of existing apps out of the box.

Categories
Connected Objects Imaging

Pinout decks out your camera with enhanced features

Camera accessories are among the most popular devices on crowdfunding sites, but many of them are focused on enhancing a single bit of functionality.

patent-claimedPinout is a small device that connects to DSLR cameras and provides them with enhancements including remote shutter release, geotagging, time lapse, high dynamic range (HDR) and loss prevention. It uses Bluetooth LE technology and works in conjunction with an app for Android and iOS mobile devices.

Categories
Connected Objects Imaging

The bright side of the Luna is filmed in glorious 360°

The advances in imaging technologies have resulted in ever smaller form factors incorporating an increasing amount of functionality. But while established companies are creating insane rigs for 360° video and VR content, Luna is offering the same functionality in a much more petite package.

Luna is a billiard ball-sized sphere containing two HD cameras that are able to create full 360° video without a single blind spot. Its durable, IP68 waterproof shell is super portable and can withstand tough conditions. Embedded Wi-Fi allows it to connect to iOS and Android devices to transfer data, geotag photos and videos and even live stream 360° video or virtual reality content.

Categories
Connected Objects Imaging

Enlaps Tikee enables endless time lapse photography

Time-lapse photography is a popular film and video shooting technique that allows viewers to see a long event completed in just a few seconds, such as the full blooming of a flower or the construction of a building from start to finish. But there are three common obstacles to shooting over an extended period of time with a digital camera: battery space, storage capacity and processing.

patent-claimedEnlaps Tikee is a plug-and-play device that removes all of those constraints and allows unlimited time-lapse photography, according to its Kickstarter campaign. It’s powered by an integrated adjustable photovoltaïc solar cell that allows for long-term time-lapse capability. Once captured, photos are wirelessly transmitted to the cloud, which provides a theoretically endless amount of storage space.

Categories
Automotive Connected Objects Imaging

Fenderhawk keeps an eye out for fender benders

Cars are all too often banged and scratched by other cars even when they are parked. It would be nice for drivers to know when such accidents happen –- and how they happened — when they’re not around.

patent-claimedFenderhawk does exactly that. It’s a smart license plate frame for the front and rear of a vehicle that features a full HD camera with a wide-angle lens, as well as a built-in accelerometer and flash storage. Fenderhawk is controlled via an app on Android and iOS mobile devices. It assists users while parking a car and continues recording video after leaving the vehicle.

If there is a collision, Fenderhawk sends the user video footage recorded on it immediately, according to its Kickstarter campaign. Fenderhawk ships in October at $199.99. Its makers hope to raise $450,000 by Dec. 24.

The device may certainly appeal to some drivers, but its functionality seems somewhat limited when compared to driving assistance devices like CarVi. Avoiding accidents while driving, after all, seems much more important than guarding against fender benders while parked and there’s nobody in the car.

Categories
Imaging Virtual Reality

LucidCam makes sensible use of 3D virtual reality

The number of virtual reality (VR) devices on the market and seeking funding via crowdsourcing continues to grow.

LucidCam is trying to help solve one problem for the emerging VR market: a lack of content. It’s a consumer stereoscopic 3D, 180-degree virtual reality camera that is portable and allows users to capture everything around them in full, 1080p HD per-eye video and 2K per-eye photo quality, according to its Indiegogo campaign. The content captured by LucidCam can then be used for VR headsets such as the Oculus Rift. LucidCam’s slim design allows it to fit right in the user’s pocket. LucidCam ships in July and its future retail price is about $500, although early bird backers can get one at pricing as low as $349. Its makers are looking to raise $100,000 by Dec. 26.

It’s still too early to say just how successful the VR product category will actually be. But LucidCam may have a bright future as long as the content captured with it can be viewed on whatever VR headset winds up being the most popular one. The inability of LucidCam to capture 360-degree video is a minus, but the addition of that functionality is a stretch goal of its makers. It also lacks the ability to shoot 4K like the recent Sphericam 2 can.

 

Categories
Imaging

A selfie stick for the non-tourist, the NEXT Selfie Stick combines functions for everyday

The scourge of the selfie stick is here to stay, for better or for worse. What truly determines the kind of species we all are is how we deal with it. Some want to do away with them altogether, but let’s face it: they’re not going anywhere anytime soon.

Instead, the team over at the Netherlands-based NEXT took on the challenge of making the universally cringe-inducing selfie stick into something that someone could use without embarrassment. Its NEXT Selfie Stick takes a normal selfie stick and tacks on 1000 lumens of LED lighting for better night shots, a Bluetooth connection for triggering photo taking, and a 2600 mAh power bank that charges most smartphones twice.