Category: Video

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Imaging Video Wearables

Autoediting Frodo seeks the One Ring of GoPro victory

When the GoPro hit the scene many moons ago, it made a huge splash quickly becoming synonymous with the connected sports movement. It was everywhere: billboards, commercials, movies — everyone either had one or wanted one. But that massive excitement growth trailed off. And while the brand and its products are still popular, they face some stiff competition with arguably better ideas.

The Frodo is a wrist-worn smart adventure camera that intelligently edits videos using one of five styles: Genius, Action, Calm, People, and 15 Second (for Instagram, of course.) The product’s aim is to help people enjoy their adventures versus being stuck editing a bunch of videos they don’t really want to and with full HD resolution, a boot-to-shoot speed of 0.7 seconds, video stabilization, and a modular design for extra battery packs,

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Pets Video

Submersible Wi-Fi Camera keeps finned friends in check

The fragile ecosystem of a tended aquarium is one that requires constant attention and care, lest users come home to dead fish every day. When the eco-system is thrown off, it’s important to know why in order to fix the problem.

This is the issue Chris Rusnak is proposing to solve with his Submersible Wi-Fi Aquarium Camera. As this wasn’t a job suitable for a side-mounted GoPro camera, he instead wants to start from scratch developing something that will allow him to check in using his smartphone or other device over Wi-Fi. Each camera comes equipped with pan and tilt capabilities for a full view of the tank.

It’s bad to say, but fish are quite inexpensive and the thought of maintaining an eco-system might seem like a lot of work for some. Still, once this product is designed, a list of instructions and components will cost backers $25, and is expected March 2015 with a successfully funded campaign of $620. Combine this with the AquaSprouts to put those fish to work, too.

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Imaging Video

One-touch Flagg’it makes editing sporting highlights less of drag

Over the last few years, sports have embraced action cameras as a way to capture those incredible moments that are often missed to later share with others. Their usually small sizes offer high-quality HD recording options, but their downside lies in having to manually turn them on and off which ultimately takes the focus off the action.

Flagg’it is a wearable button that functions as an instant marker for any and all cameras someone may have. A single button press marks a video track with a flag, and the included Flagg’it software allows users to import their video with the attached flags. Having these markers lets users more easily edit their video without having to review the entire thing for notable moments, a process that can easily eat up so much time.

Those behind Flagg’it are banking on the fact that it’s easier to begin the editing process in the moment rather than back at a computer, so they’ve made it easy to do so. The device doesn’t function through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi but rather emits an audio signal which it uses to sync instead, allowing Flagg’it to work with any camera at any distance. And its 50 hours or more of battery life relieves batteries worries, too. A Flagg’it device goes for $69, and is expected to ship July 2015 if the campaign raises $50,000.

What Flagg’it does, it does very well. Sports enthusiasts will no doubt absolutely love the ability to set up flags on their recorded video in real time, so its functionality will be met with warm welcome. It’s also shock, dust, and shock resistant, but even then it isn’t certain Flagg’it will be able to truly withstand the punishment it surely will receive.

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Imaging Video

The Parrot teleprompter for DSLRs helps your yap stay on track

Anyone trying to produce quality video is well aware of the difficulties behind editing hours of content down to that single morsel that will still flow well. The main culprit behind it all is simply forgetting lines, something easily solved with a teleprompter. Unfortunately, most are prohibitively expensive and therefore lock a large segment of individuals out of even thinking about the purchase.

It’s a shame that’s the case, because a teleprompter can dramatically increase the quality of video production almost instantly. Inventor Brigham Arce thought the same and created The Parrot teleprompter for DSLR and mirrorless cameras. The product is a essentially a shrunken down teleprompter that uses a smartphone to help display text. It’s acrylic beam splitter mirror offers 70% light transmission and allows users to still read what they need to while the camera sees nothing. The Parrot and a lens adapter can both be purchased for $100. The product is expected to be shipped in May 2015 provided the campaign reaches its $30,000 goal.

Any product that can drastically reduce the price a lot of folks in the field would like to have but can’t afford will be a sure-fire hit. The product has a wide target market ranging from bloggers to video professionals, and its compatibility with most major smartphones negates the necessity for other expenses. And when users are done, they can use the Lumera to instantly share what they’ve created before they’ve dismantled the entire set-up.

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Connected Objects Imaging Video

ZANO drone zigs and zags, zooms upward from the palm of your hand

The drones we all know and love are usually large, intimidating machines that seem to be more a part of a Terminator movie than anything else. That’s why the recent trend of their miniaturization is a welcome thing.

Torquing Group’s ZANO continues that trend with its 6.5cm x 6.5cm, fits-in-the-palm-of-the-hand construction. The nano drone offers everything a larger drone can, from HD picture and video capture to a follow me mode, to ensure any high-action events can be captured. Its image stabilization ensures the moments are captured without the presence of blurring or anything else unsightly.

Smartphone tethering allows for gesture control, a back-to-user feature, and a free fly mode when users want full reign over the drone’s operation. Black and white options go for £149 (~$232), while a limited camouflage or glow-in-the-dark option are all available to interested backers, and currently go for £215 (~$335). The £125,000 (~$194,625) campaign is looking to have more ZANOs in the air by June 2015.

As previously mentioned, the ZANO is a reflection of the miniaturization of drones. Other products like the Anura or the Pocketcopter offer similar functionality, but with it are also burdened by a drone’s chief problem: battery life. The ZANO itself only lasts for 10-15 minutes before needing a battery swap, an impractical amount of time for anything other than short bursts of use, rendering something like a follow me mode pretty useless. Its size may be impressive, but users won’t be able to marvel for too long.

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Imaging Technology Video

Ghost Drone disappears, returns with a tap

More and more, drones are starting to be seen in everyday life, but the process continues to be slow. One of the main obstacles in adoption is how unfriendly most drones are to users, usually requiring assembly and presenting users with bulky RC controllers with a million and one buttons that have to be learned for proper control.

The team behind the Ghost Drone has focused primarily on usability instead, ditching the big RC remote for an Android app that allows for easier control. A single tap will launch the Ghost into the air, tapping locations on a map of an area will prompt it to travel to that point, and another button will command it to return and land. A micro-control mode will offer users more nuanced control when needed, but they’ll have to be careful as the drone offers no obstacle avoidance technology just yet.

The Ghost Drone is Go Pro compatible with the addition of an optional gymbal, or attachment on which to connect cameras and other peripherals. Its SDK, or software development kit, makes it extremely customizable as well. The product is another worthy attempt to bring drones to the forefront similar to what the Anura is doing, and does so while being extremely sleek. The $375 Ghost Drone is expected to ship in January 2015 provided its campaign reaches the $100,000 goal.

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Imaging Video

Vela One delivers high-speed flash photography faster than you can blink

Being a photographer is an expensive gig, and treading into the waters of high speed photography, even more so. The equipment currently used to film those well-known shots of small events like water droplets falling and frogs jumping cost big money, so it’s not hard to see why it isn’t more prevalent. Matt Kane wasn’t a big fan of the excessive costs, and created the Vela One to make it more affordable to do quality high speed photography.

The Vela One does away with the need for a high-speed camera costing tens of thousands of dollars as an LED-based unit that packs one million units into a sturdy polycarbonate box. The Vela One is capable of pulses as short as 500 nanoseconds, 100 times faster than standard speed light flashes and fast enough to shoot a rifle bullet. Since the device isn’t based on high voltage sparks and doesn’t require dangerous equipment to operate, it’s so much more versatile and accessible. Photographers can combine the Vela One with the fps1000 for truly low-cost, quality shots, making the former practically necessary to most any photographer. A donation of £550 (~$856) will get backers a Vela One by May 2015 should the product reach its campaign goal of £25,000 (~$38,900).

 

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Automotive Cell Phone Accessories Imaging Video

RV Rear View Camera streams video to keep trailer towers safe on the road

Those who travel the world in the front seat of a car attached to trailers are an admirable bunch. Most people would agree the amount of freedom they have is enviable but like all good things in the world, it comes at a cost. Having a long trailer attached to the back of any vehicle automatically makes it much harder to drive, and actions as basic as changing lanes or braking suddenly become much more dangerous.

The RV Rear View Camera system allows users to attach an Internet protocol camera, or IP camera, to a trailer’s rear window. Once attached, video is streamed to an iPhone mounted on the dash of the vehicle doing all the heavy lifting. This alleviates the blindspots created by towing an RV around and offers an increased sense of security to those traveling.

Unfortunately, those with Android devices are out of luck although those are in the works. For now, only iPhones 5 and 6 work with the $400 system. The product is expected to ship in January 2015 with a successful campaign of $10,500.

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Displays Video

Bleen promises to project 3-D images in midair

Plenty of science fiction novels, movies, and games have featured 3-D holographic imagery projected from a simple device. From Princess Leia’s plea for help in Star Wars to Cortana’s guidance throughout the Halo games, the transportable 3-D hologram projector is something humans have dreamed about for decades.

Bleen is almost identical to what many people would expect this technology to take form as. Appearing as a large egg or polyhedral rock, the Bleen projector opens up to display buttons and an upward-facing projector that can form a 3-D image over eight feet in the air above the device. With basic applications like movies and games, to interactive workouts and musical performances, Bleen is trying to give the hologram its place in the personal entertainment space.

Bleen has its own marketplace where developers and users can create their own content for download, recorded using the device’s hundreds of high resolution cameras and displayed with fast-pulse laser beams. Bleen is still in its concept phase and needs $225,000 to move forward. Donating $400 to the campaign ($225 now and $175 at the time of shipping) will get consumers a Bleen in the color and shape of their choice. The release date is not firm at this time, but is tentatively set for October 2015.

This is one of those science fiction-turned-reality kind of devices that is so exciting to imagine how it will work and become a part of daily life. As is usually the case, it may turn out to be pure novelty, but anyone wanting personal holograms will want to back Bleen. It may not be quite ready for the mass market, but holograms in the home and a background that dates to technology in the USSR should be enough for some.

Categories
Home Video

ISense offers a live look into your home on demand

The Premise. Nobody can be home all the time to protect their belongings and house from potential burglars or other threats, but the new wave of smart home monitors can record video and keep an eye out for intruders, alerting owners of any break-ins through their smartphones.

The Product. ISense is one such system that offers this level of home protection in a way that offers peace of mind so long as a smartphone is kept handy. The cable-free system equipped with high definition camera can be set up anywhere and can offer a live feed at any time through the app or start recording video and send a notification any time that motion is detected. Each unit has over a year’s worth of battery life and communicate over Wi-Fi, 3G, or 4G. Each system also includes a Sync Module that allows the cameras to communicate with connected phones, as well as including onboard storage for recorded video in addition to cloud storage.

The Pitch. kaan tas put together a simple pitch for ISense highlighting the ease of setting up or customizing an ISense system and the level of monitoring the devices can provide on-demand from any location. For ISense to become a viable product, kaan tas wants to raise $40,000 AUD to fund production and fulfillment.

The Perks. Getting an ISense takes a pledge of $59 AUD, which includes the system with Sync Module and 16GB of video storage. The onboard storage can be doubled at the $66 AUD level, but both include cloud storage as well. Those that want to be among the first to use the product can get into the Beta program for $139 AUD, and getting multiple rooms set up with ISense is possible with plenty of tiers offering multiple cameras. All perks are shipping out in February 2015.

The Potential. The wireless setup, long battery life, and notification of any detected motion make ISense a great choice for any consumer looking to add a simple, effective home monitoring system. What ISense offers in simplicity, it lacks in subtlety. The bright LED on the front that is used when the camera is on makes it so that if set up in a place that can be stepped around or crawled under, the system could be moved by any intruders, still detecting motion as it’s set down, but not offering any identifying information. Take that big light off of the front, and there could be something that belongs in any home here. At the same time, the feature set is pretty much identical to existing options like Blink, albeit with a larger focus on video quality. The combination of the glaring light and the lack of distinction might make ISense a forgettable chapter in home security video.