For those with only green-tinged thumbs, it can be difficult to gauge the health of your plant. Smart Plant is a device from Turkey that tells you whether your plant is good, thirsty, over-watered, too hot or too cold. The device is inserted directly into the soil and even hooks up with a smartphone app via Bluetooth. The Smart Plant can even be programmed to water your plant for you, much like the Daisy.si. However, unlike the Daisy.si, Smart Plant provides a bit more information regarding the plant’s health and does so with cute smiley faces. One of these intelligent plant monitors costs $185 with estimated delivery in January 2015. Smart Plant is going for $26,000 on Kickstarter.
Category: Sensors/IoT
The Premise. Once upon a time, people relied on local news reports or weather sections of newspapers. Now, every smartphone is well equipped to give local weather and temperature data, but so often it tends to be incorrect or inaccurate due to weather monitoring stations that are several miles away.
The Product. BloomSky is a weather sensor that can be installed outdoors using a spike and can be augmented with a solar panel for continuous charge. Its design is more than just for looks, as it provides accurate detection of temperature, precipitation, humidity, and more while protecting the internals from sunlight, dust, and water. BloomSky also comes with a wide-lens HD camera that takes pictures of the sky and sends them straight to smartphones for a real look at the conditions outside. These pictures can then be combined to create time-lapse movies of the day’s weather.
The Pitch. BloomSky’s pitch is pretty straightforward: those looking for accurate weather conditions and want to contribute to a larger network that provides that data to others will want a BloomSky as soon as possible. The flexibility of the device to come with solar options as well as an indoor sensor also make it a great way to replace a home’s thermometers with something more modern. BloomSky is looking to raise $75,000 to finish development of the app and handle tooling and production of the device itself.
The Perks. A BloomSky outdoor sensor with ground stake is available for $99 and will ship out in December. The indoor/outdoor kit can be had for $129, while the outdoor model with solar-powered charger base is $139 and won’t be out until March 2015. One of everything runs for $199, and developers can get in on the beta for $1,299 starting in August.
The Potential. Like so many other products that opt for a crowdsourced approach, BloomSky’s greatest strength could also be its greatest weakness. The idea behind a completely local weather network that people individually add to in order to complete a picture is a fantastic idea that is solely dependent upon there being enough local users in order to flesh out. Thankfully, BloomSky works well enough as a sort of at-home workaround for the inaccuracies of distant weather stations, so the individual can still have some valuable use out of this product even if none of their neighbors purchase it. Aesthetically pleasing and fully functional, those who never step outside without checking the forecast will appreciate the pinpoint accuracy that BloomSky provides.
Accident-prone or otherwise disasterous chefs take note: the smart kitchen may be a savior when it comes to getting a meal prepared just right. Products like iGrill are designed to keep users informed of temperatures so no food comes out black and burned, and no kitchens burn down. Now comes Range Oven Intelligence, from the makers of TWINE. Range OI is a complete kitchen monitoring tool that can keep an eye on almost all kinds of cooking heat, give detailed reports, and send alerts to smartphones, smart TVs, and smartwatches. Range Oven Intelligence is available for $98, but backers will have to be patient: this product will be slow-cooked to quality with a release date of March 2015.
The downside to acquiring expensive, cutting-edge technology is that it creates a need for increased security. A burglar in the home can be an extremely costly and emotionally damaging experience. Dropcam Tabs aims to fix this by recording any situation that may be related to unauthorized entry. These small sensors can be attached to any object and if any motion is detected, it can send an alert to a smartphone and begin recording whatever the networked Dropcam Pro can see. The fact that these devices are roughly standalone is a great sell, but only to those willing to invest in a Dropcam Pro. Dropcam Tabs will launch this summer and can be preordered for $29 each.
For those who are organized, disorganized or anywhere in between, losing stuff is inevitable for all. Everyone has longed for a way to conveniently keep track of their items, but nothing has been done about it. TrackR Bravo offers a simple solution in the form of a thin, lightweight tracker that connects with your smartphone. The app lets you locate your laptop, keys, wallet etc. and the TrackR Bravo can also be used in reverse to find your phone. One of these simple devices only costs backers $29. TrackR hopes to raise $20,000 in its Indiegogo campaign.
With today’s pace of technological advancements, it’s reasonable to expect everything to connect with one another cleanly on a unified network. With a smart hub, beacon tags, and power strips, oort is aiming to be the link that binds all smart devices together. By functioning over Bluetooth Low Energy, oort can allow connected users to control the items in their home, locate pets or keys, and even get business recommendations as they move through the city. The sky’s the limit for oort, though in order to be successful, it will take a nation of adopters. Backers can get an oort hub with beacon in September for $199.
The Premise. The environment is something that should always be appreciated and enjoyed, but sometimes conditions are too dangerous. Whether it’s ultraviolet rays damaging skin or indoor humidity posing a risk to valuable collectibles, a reliable way of knowing the conditions at any time and location is a powerful tool to have.
The Product. CliMate is a tiny environmental sensor that can be set anywhere or clipped to clothing or belongings that provides constant monitoring of humidity, temperature, and ultraviolet index. From there, CliMate sends this data to any iOS or Android device and provide reminders based on certain thresholds to avoid severe weather or even reapply sunscreen based on skin tone data and SPF rating. CliMate also has a button on its face that can serve as a remote for a phone’s camera or a locator that will cause the phone to sound an alarm. CliMate users can provide their data through the app to WeatherBook, which will show other the readings from other CliMates nearby to get a feel for local weather patterns.
The Pitch. Rooti, the company behind CliMate, passionately describes how its device provides more necessary information than other environment trackers on the market. Their video shows the device in action in a variety of settings, from the indoor display case to the camping tent in the wild. That kind of flexibility is exactly what CliMate offers to become the go-to environment tracker on the market. Rooti is looking for $50,000 for mass production.
The Perks. CliMate is available for $39, complete with color choice, stand, and lanyard. Higher reward tiers include Kickstarter-exclusive color schemes and multiple CliMate devices. The product expects to launch in September.
The Potential. Looking at CliMate itself, it’s not obvious what it does. Watching the campaign video, it becomes clearer before getting somewhat confusing again. Rooti will want to narrow down its communication a bit and make sure people know exactly what CliMate is capable of. The feature set is fairly limited but certainly seems good at what it does, but some of the other abilities seem tacked on. It’s always nice to have a phone-finding device but it seems out of place here, and the crowdsourced weather map seems unhelpful when there’s a device designed to give the precise data of a current location. CliMate will likely need to function above its promises in order to prove successful.
Weather is unpredictable, which can be a very bad thing when it comes to severe storms. While there are plenty of local meteorologists doing their best to interpret the patterns weather clings to, StormTag is a small, keyring device that functions on Bluetooth LE. StormTag can detect temperature, barometric pressure, humidity, and more, then send that data to a phone in real-time or upload it anonymously to the cloud to create a larger picture of data that can be used for scientific or hobbyist purposes. Whether it’s for a surfer who wants to catch a big wave, or just to keep safe in the face of unpredictable but dangerous weather, anyone interested in StormTag can get one for $20 in November 2014.
The Premise. Bike locks are relatively unrefined. One needs to simply trust in the strength of their lock to protect them from thieves. Given enough time and opportunity, however, thieves can break into the strongest of locks unbeknownst to the owner.
The Product. Skylock is an incredibly sophisticated solar-powered U-lock for your bicycle. It connects to your mobile phone and lets the owner know if their lock is being tampered with. This super-lock provides keyless entry and key sharing for multiple riders via Bluetooth as well as a GPS locator. When a crash or accident occurs, the lock sends a signal to your phone that gives you the option to either say that you’re uninjured or call for help from family, friends and even the authorities. This product is also functional, using a dual-locking mechanism for maximum security. If the bike should run out of battery, it won’t let the user lock the bike until recharged. The lock can also be charged externally by micro USB if sunlight is unavailable.
The Pitch. So far, Skylock has received tons of praise from the press which its campaign features. The video shows the lock in action, displaying how it alerts the rider when the bike is moved, the way it springs into action after an accident has occurred, as well as how easy it is to share access to the bike. Skylock is looking to raise $15,000 in a month-long Indiegogo campaign.
The Perks. Early riders can enjoy the Skylock for $149. It’s base Indiegogo price is set at $159 while its retail price will be $249. Higher tiers offer bundles of locks for bike share programs.
The Potential. Good bike locks can be hard to find. Locks such as the HENCH bike lock offer bank-level security, but aren’t “smart”. The Lock8, a UK smart bike lock, recently ran a successfully Kickstarter campaign. This product offers keyless entry, anti-theft alarms and GPS locating services. The Skylock takes the smart lock to a new level with its bike sharing capabilities and accident panic button. For a product that will protect you and your bike, the Skylock’s price is competitive and is a great investment for any bicycle commuter or enthusiast.
The Premise. Every smart home needs a hub to control everything, right? It feels like there are getting to be as many varieties of smart home controllers as there are homes themselves, but that isn’t keeping the market from deviating one way or another.
The Product. Sentri is a device capable of controlling a home either locally or through a smartphone app. From climate control to locking doors, if the components are compatible, Sentri can handle it. What makes Sentri unique is the addition of a camera that allows users to view their home live in real-time but also interact via video call with people in the home, which can be great for short updates, changing plans, or just easily letting the family know to get ready to head out to dinner upon arriving in the neighborhood.
The Pitch. In all aspects of the campaign, Sentri pitches its product through two key ideas: Sentri connects users to their home more directly than any other product through its camera, and it’s easy to set up because it only requires to be turned on and connected to a Wi-Fi network. Sentri wants to raise $200,000 to move the device into the tooling and production phases for mass distribution.
The Perks. A Sentri system can be picked up for $199 and will be delivered in May 2015. Differently colored models start at $269, with engraving as an option at $299. The tiers include several options for further customization of both style and quantity, with the next unique option coming in at the $2,000 level, where backers can sign up to be an alpha user and receive a PVT version of Sentri, also expected to ship in May 2015.
The Potential. At the rate these devices are being proposed and marketed, it seems like the safest bet might be to wait until competitors are done layering features on top of one another. What makes the Sentri unique is the use of a camera that can be used for communication or security monitoring, which is a pretty great idea for making last-minute changes to the shopping list or checking in on pets, children, or anyone else. As that seems to be the only difference between Sentri and other smart home units, it isn’t so farfetched to see this unique quality become standard among all the others in a matter of months, if not weeks. It’s a great-looking device, but the market is becoming so saturated at this point that something has to give.