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Connected Objects Health and Wellness

The Brise connected air purifier produces refreshing, clean breezes in the abode

Current apartments and homes are being built in a manner that makes them more sealed in an effort to reduce energy consumption. This has the unfortunate side effect of amplifying already harmful, polluted air, leading to recent studies by the World Health Organization (WHO) to conclude that indoor pollution is 5x worse than outdoor pollution.

This is why products like Brise are important right now. The combination of a capable air purifier and artificial intelligence makes it a worthy addition to any smart home. The Brise works with its companion smartphone app to analyzing user routines and preferences along with room types and sizes to adjust filtration performance accordingly. This means that Brise will work differently in a kitchen than in a painter’s studio, for instance.

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Imaging Organization

GearEye helps you keep an eye on your gear

Many people have become increasingly reliant on their smartphones, cameras and other electronic devices. One resulting problem is the difficulty in keeping track of all the various lenses, chargers and other accessories that are used in conjunction with devices.

GearEye is an RFID-based tagging and gear management system for ensuring that all gear is in one’s bag or close at hand and, if it’s not, that it can be easily found. It works in conjunction with an Android and iOS app, and uses a smartphone’s smart sensors and RFID GearTag labels to keep track of the user’s gear.

GearEye ships in July at $199 for a SKU that includes a choice of a case or dongle, along with five GearTags for metal items and 15 regular GearTags in a mixture of sizes, and $219 for a SKU that includes 10 GearTags for metal items and 30 regular GearTags in mixed sizes. But Kickstarter backers can order them now for pledges of $129 and $139, respectively. Its makers are out to raise $60,000 by Dec. 30.

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Smart Home

Switch Bot pushes all the right buttons to control your switches

While running around from place to place each day, it’s common to forget to shut the lights or other electronic devices off at home. It would also be nice to shut those same devices off while one is just too tired to get out of bed.

Switch Bot is a small robotic device that attaches to other devices throughout the home or office and can wirelessly control all their switches and buttons. Control can be done while at the location or remotely using a smartphone or smartwatch.

 

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Categories
Smart Home Television

ZaZaRemote may have you going gaga with its multifunctions

It would be really convenient if one’s universal remote control could not only control the TV, but also every other electric appliance in the room.

ZaZaRemote is a hybrid touchscreen/button remote control that uses infrared (IR), 2.4G-radio frequency (RF), Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. It can remotely control all IR electric appliances, including TVs, set-top boxes, projectors, DVD players, audio devices and air conditioners. The programmable remote also serves as a home security assistant, reporting its sensor’s data to the user’s mobile phone.

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Categories
Displays

SPUD provides you with portable pop-up projector

Portable projectors can come in handy, but they typically require perfect lighting and a perfect wall to use them with, meaning they cannot be used anywhere. They also tend to have relatively low brightness, resolution and battery life.

But that’s not the case with the Spontaneous Pop-up Display (SPUD). It’s a high-resolution, projector-based display with a 24-inch screen that collapses and expands like an umbrella. Because of SPUD’s light weight (less than 2 pounds) and compact form factor, when collapsed, it easily fits in the user’s purse, backpack, laptop bag, or even their jacket pockets. Its patented projection screen doesn’t wrinkle when collapsed.

SPUD can be connected to any device via HDMI or a separate adapter, and doesn’t use a light bulb/lamp in its projection system. The system instead uses three R/G/B LEDs as the light source, and they have a lifespan of about 50,000 hours, meaning one can use SPUD for 10 hours a day for well over 10 years before worrying about its lifespan, according to its makers.

SPUD ships in June at $499. But Kickstarter backers have been able to order one with a pledge starting at $349 for super early birds. Its makers hope to raise $33,000 by Dec. 16.

Multiple usage scenarios can be envisioned for SPUD, including for business presentations, for playing video games and while traveling. One additional big plus compared to typical portable projectors is that it uses a flexible polymer that can’t crack or chip and, if it gets dirty, SPUD is also washable.

On the other hand, despite its 1280 x 720 resolution being better than portable projectors like the 854 x 480 Asus S1, some consumers may be looking only for a device that supports 4K at this point. Its screen size is also likely too small for some consumers, but its maker is looking to offer larger display sizes in the future.

Categories
Connected Objects Toys

DR!FT model cars brings Gran Turismo out of the screen and into your life

While motorsport is one of the most popular sports in the world, it doesn’t have much of a fanbase here in the US outside of NASCAR. Unrealistic portrayals of race cars as children aid the problem, with most model cars sold unable to capture the nuances of full-size racing vehicles. Change that, and the potential for a more engaged audience skyrockets.

Straight out of the home of heavyweights like BMW and Porsche, the DR!FT model race cars are the first toys to accurately replicate the many subtleties of motorsport-ready sports cars, all without any specialized track necessary. This means that DR!FT model cars perform with real racing dynamics that are true-to-scale, allowing them to accelerate realistically, reach a believable top speed, brake authentically, and even drift. It even comes complete with different engine sounds along with simulated brake and tire sounds. 

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Categories
Connected Objects Imaging

Pello interactive kids’ camera comes in yellow, four other colors

Parents like to know what their kids are up to when using interactive devices, whether it’s a computer, smartphone, tablet or even a camera. But cameras don’t typically offer a way for parents to keep tabs on their kids’ activity.

Pello is a child-focused camera with filters and Bluetooth connectivity to a parental smartphone app that allows parents to see the photos their kids are taking. The interactive camera is designed specifically for children, and also allows them to easily share their photos with friends.

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Connected Objects

The Pup pocket scanner uploads documents where you need them most

Everyone has a problem with organization to some degree, which is why so many companies continually introduce new and novel solutions to help. Usually, documents pose the biggest challenge because not only do they need be efficiently organized, doing so must be a habit. If not, it’ll quickly become a mess no one wants to sort through at the end of the year.

The Pup is a connected pocket scanner that’s small enough to be used no matter where you are. The wireless device can scan most size documents — whether they’re their own sheets or part of a book — automatically crop, rotate, format and fix curves among other functionality, and then upload it to a program of the user’s choosing like Word or Excel. It even connects to social networks as well so that parent can share a child’s newest piece of art, for example. Pup features laser guides to grab the perfect scan, single button control for ease of use, has its own lighting, can scan in color or in black/white, and has enough onboard storage to store 10,000 pages.

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Categories
Connected Objects

EnzoMind Connect connects to and controls your devices via voice

It would be handy to control all the devices in a room just from the sound of one’s voice. EnzoMind Connect is an intelligent remote control system for devices in the home and office that works via voice control. EnzoMind also makes it easy for users to quickly find any piece of information they want on the Internet. The device uses algorithms based on neural networks and has a built-in Wi-Fi module.

The Android-based EnzoMind Connect ships in August at about $299 for a basic version with two adapters to control two electronic devices, about $359 for the EnzoMind Connect Pro with four adapters to control four devices, or about $395 for a multi-room set with one control unit, three adapters and a satellite that expands its operation to two rooms. But Indiegogo backers can order EnzoMind Connect for a pledge of $249 for the basic version, $299 for the Pro model, or $329 for the multi-room set. There are also double and triple sets. Its makers hope to raise $80,000 by Dec. 7.

Other devices have used neural networks, including the Xpider. And, of course, other devices –- namely smartphones and tablets, as well as Amazon Echo and smart hub systems from companies including Samsung — can be used to control devices around the home. EnzoMind’s makers say it can control most electrical devices. Assuming that it does, however, there are still just too many similar devices on the market that it’s up against to call it a sure thing.

 

 

 

Categories
Connected Objects Fitness

Stealth core trainer makes your gut incognito

As annoying as it might be to hear, simply doing exercise isn’t enough. It’s also necessary to introduce variety into exercise routines, or else long-term physical change will be hard to achieve. Generally speaking, doing so is difficult but can be done. Effectively targeting the 29 different core muscles and keeping them on their toes, though, is a different challenge altogether. This is exactly what makes Stealth so appealing.

Stealth offers users a quick and effective core workout in under three minutes. They simply need to download the Stealth app on their smartphone, place it inside the Stealth, choose their workout, get into the plank position, and exercise their core. The game itself challenges users to follow and destroy different colored circles by bending, twisting and angling themselves in different directions — a ruse to distract them from the pain they’ll definitely be feeling.

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