The turnover of successive iPhone generations has led to many of us having a surplus of old devices. You could sell them or give them away, but why not put them to work around the house? wobL is a nightstand cradle for your iPhone that positions it at an optimal viewing angle for your horizontal head and allows you to “snooze” an alarm via a companion app. Rocking is a clever way to snooze the device given that the iPhone has no side-mounted snooze button, and the approach avoids having to pair with something via Bluetooth. Of course, it also works with Apple’s iPhone 5 series, providing a place for you to charge up overnight. On the other hand, even a dimmed LCD isn’t everyone’s favorite bedside companion. wobL comes to Kickstarter after a campaign on its hometown crowdfunding site Crowd Supply. It’s available to backers for $25, but isn’t expected to be available until October 2014. That seems like a long time for a relatively simple device, even including potential app development time.
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Chess on the Dot makes you king of the globe
The world is not flat so why should your chess game be? So goes the reasoning of Joshua Chan, creator of Chess on the Dot. This is actually the designer’s third gogo at Indiegogo trying to raise funds for his pricey ($1,199, a 20 percent discount of retail) chess globe that uses magnets in place of gravity for keeping the pieces affixed to the board. Previous attempts to pawn the art piece have been checked. Despite the unusual shape, the game plays as it does on a standard chess board albeit with a lot more rotation. Beautiful if impractical, the chess-in-the-round set can transport to your sphere of influence in June 2014.
The Premise. In 2012 alone, there were 8,975,438 property crimes in the U.S. according to the FBI. Collectively, those crimes (which include burglaries, larceny thefts, and car thefts) resulted in a loss of $15.1 billion dollars for the victims, and the rate that agencies made arrests on these crimes is 528.1 arrests for every 100,000 crimes.
The Product. WataSensor aims to improve the security market, and improve the alarming number of property thefts in the U.S. Their product, the WA1, can sense a window breaking, a door opening, or a fire burning and will then send an alert to your smartphone so you can always monitor your property safely. The WA1 is completely portable, and works in any car or house up to 2000 square meters, plus it doesn’t rely on line-of-sight or motion-sensing technology like its competitors. Simply pair it with your smartphone, and you’re protected with the WA1 — no wires or additional set up required.
The Pitch. WataSensor’s video explains just what its product is capable of, and how the company hopes their product can protect property in both the home and automotive markets. According to WataSensor, 90% of homes are unprotected and they hope to change that number for the better. By raising $100,000 the company plans to invest in manufacture tooling for the WA1 and complete their development of the smartphone app.
The Perks. Early adopters, for the price of $249, can be among the first to be protected by the WA1 when it ships in July 2014. That package will also include regular updates from the team and a special edition t-shirt as well. For those more enthusiastic about the product, $400 will include the aforementioned items plus the current generation device which will ship in February.
The Potential. The WA1 will go head-to-head with a huge crowdfunding success story, the Canary, as well as the crowdfunded iSmartAlarm. These products disrupt the security market by creating a device that allows protection without the monthly payments or costly setup procedures, although those who want a professionally monitored option will need to look at options such as the SimpliSafe2. These options also have the advantage of letting you move houses without having to start over and work in just about any setting. Indeed, if the WA1 be even used in a car as the company states, it may be poised to advance home security into apartments where penetration is even lower than in houses.
The Premise. Many people have to monitor their own blood pressures multiple times daily due to various medical conditions. The means having a bulky blood pressure cuff with them, which can be unsightly and to some, embarrassing.
The Product. QardioArm revolutionizes not only the look of a blood pressure cuff, but also the usability and feasibility. The company has created a product that is sleek and doesn’t look out of place in a work bag or purse, while simultaneously creating a product that brings blood pressure monitoring into the digital age. The QardioArm can connect via Bluetooth to your iPhone, where it syncs the data with its secure cloud storage system. You can then share the information with your family or doctor, if you choose.
The Pitch. The video for the $100,000 campaign is professionally shot and features not only the developers but a physician who speaks to the merit of the product. After a brief personal story of how the item came to be, the video shows various stages of product, usage, and puts the QardioArm in a series of shots that are the contents of peoples’ bags, to show it doesn’t look out of place. The text gives more information and details, as well as a brief few sentences about an upcoming product that is a wearable EKG monitor that will work through the same system.
The Perks. For $85, a backer gets an early bird special price on a QardioArm, and for $160, a backer receives two. However, the company is also marketing to physicians and hospitals, and offers five QardioArms for $400 and 100 for $7500. That shows forward thinking and a great way to reach out to the medical community. The product offers perks for those who have to track their health, but one drawback may be the security these devices provide. By linking to a cloud and to doctor’s offices, there is a chance of hacking and so forth.
The Potential QardioArm follows earlier connected blood pressure monitors such as those from Withings and iHealth that attached directly to the iPhone, but makes improvements in terms of portability and Bluetooth connectivity. Making blood pressure readings more convenient, even consumers who have not been diagnosed with high blood pressure may be incentivized to do so and gain greater insights into their health.
What do you get when you cross the hobbyist Arduino platform with Bluetooth and the On-Board Diagnostics (OBD-II) port found in every vehicle? Nobody really knows yet, but the developers of Freematics (a portmanteau of “free” and “telematics” aim to find out by opening up the combination to open source developers. One thing’s that certain is that the device can handle a lot of data about your car’s vital statistics such as its speed and engine RPMs. Turning that into something more meaningful for people will be left to developers who will be the main audience for the data collector. Freematics should be available in March 2014 to backers who pledge at least $89 AUD.
The Premise. Technology is fabulous. Alas, we still do not have flying cars, but if we do you can bet they’ll be connected to our smartphones. In the meantime, car manufacturers are focused on connecting gravity-bound automobiles.
The Product. Truvolo is a small device which plugs into your car’s data port along with a smartphone app that collects data from the device and sends it to a secure cloud-based platform. The device, which plugs into a car’s on-board diagnostics (OBD-II) connector can clue you in to problems, help optimize gas mileage, and send alerts for unsafe driving. Being connected, it also provides several car-related services such as regular maintenance reminders, alerts when it’s time to fill the gas tank, alternate routes when traffic is heavy and an organization system which helps account for trips for business and separate them from personal travels.
The Pitch. Jaideep Jain, co-founder and CEO lays out the need for Truvolo in a straightforward video in which he also explains that the project was inspired as his son approached legal driving age. He thinks of Truvolo as “the place to go for everything car-related.” He explains that Truvolo can help make you and a safer driver by providing feedback on driver performance in addition to location information. He claims that in the future, Truvolo will even be able to block texting while driving. Other than the video, the campaign on Indiegogo features a link to the various press Truvolo has garnered to date in addition to some partial screen shots of the app.
The Perks. This project has many, many reward tiers starting at $30 for the most basic level of support with a corresponding reward of a Truvolo tee and letter of thanks. The first 150 people to donate $89 can become either an “early bird” or “beta tester” of the Truvolo device and app, with beta testers receiving the product about two months in advance of other audiences. Other tiers escalate to increasing amounts of product and rewards which include dinner with the founders (transportation excluded) and for $6,000 you can even become a “development partner.” According to the posted project schedule, units will complete beta testing in May and start shipping to Indiegogo supporters in June 2014.
The Potential. While there’s no doubt in the potential for a new connected standard for future vehicles, the concrete benefits to a product like Truvolo remain somewhat unclear for now. Similar products like Zubie and Automatic are already available in the market and it’s difficult to see how Truvolo will differentiate itself. Most people already know how to be safer drivers — slow down, use caution, stop fully at stop signs, etc. But there’s something to be said for hard evidence. If Truvolo can’t leverage that to change driver behavior, it may be seen as just an expensive way to remind yourself to get an oil change.
Apple did a great job with the AC adapter for its laptops, which allow you to wrap the cords around them for more organized travel. Alas, the company passed on that opportunity with the iPhone, leaving no great options for tucking away its Lightning cable, an issue others have tackled. The I’m Tidy is a small silicone covering for Apple’s standard iPhone wall charger that allows you to wrap your lightning connector around it. As a bonus, it will support your iPhone upright atop the wall charger when it’s plugged in. The bit of silicone is expected to ship in June 2014 for backers for $25 CAD after the early bird tier runs out.
The Premise. Home burglaries are a real concern in the U.S. Safes are used to hide valuables, but aren’t always easily accessible. Everyday items like smartphones, tablets and other valuables don’t get stored in safes because it isn’t realistic or convenient to keep them there.
The Product. King Concealment is a box that mounts into the wall and is concealed with a framed photograph. There are two kinds of boxes, both 15”x18”. The starter-box ($39) doesn’t come with a frame to conceal the box, but one can easily use her own photo to do so. The king-box ($79) includes a frame and slider tracks so that the photo can be moved easily. The frame comes either in mahogany or black.
The Pitch. The Kickstarter campaign’s video features a dramatization of a slow-moving burglar in a gray leather jacket and wool gloves snatching various items around the house. His slinky demeanor and 1940’s burglar-like mannerisms make the video hilarious in an unexpected way. Braeden Cuff, King Concealment’s creator, spends the remainder of the video talking about his passion to help minimize the destruction a burglary can cause. The rest of the campaign gives clear prices for his product and tips for installation, which is definitely handy for the not-so-handyman. Cuff hopes to raise $15,000 for the product, for which a Web site is already up and running.
The Perks. An early bird special pledge of $39 includes a start-up box and shipping costs. From there, a higher tier is $99 and includes a king-box, choice of frame color and $20 for shipping. Cuff has an estimated availability of March to April 2014.
The Potential. There are already diversion safes out there that resemble household items such as shaving cream cans and bibles that hide things in plain sight. The King Concealment box has more room than these, but is clearly less convenient to install. On the other hand, home safes are expensive and can even attract burglars to some extent. Cuff says that his wall boxes are perfect for storing handguns. The case for access might be strong, but guns should really be locked up. However, the boxes are perfect for other valuables one wants accessible — that is, unless a potential perpetrator happens to catch you accessing it.
The Premise. If you’ve ever tried to get yourself out of a wetsuit after a day at the beach, chances are you know that it’s not quite as easy as it looks. It’s an awkward task to take on, especially when you get down to the legs of the suit. For those who spend a lot of time in the water, this can be a nuisance standing between you and the next part of your fun day outdoors.
The Product. Laura Taylor of Galway, Ireland has created what she’s calling the world’s first patented wetsuit removal tool, and while it’s not the most attractive-looking thing in the world, it appears to work quite well. Essentially a foot long metal “gripper” with a plastic handle and head, the Off’n’Up works by running the shoehorn-like product against your leg, during which the plastic piece grabs the wetsuit material and pulls it down to your feet. The project’s campaign page states that there’s no other product like it on the market, and it is indeed hard to find anything similar out there. It not only lets you remove the wetsuit efficiently, but while standing. And as a bonus, it can also double as a hanger for the wetsuit.
The Pitch. The campaign video starts off by having a young man flail around on the ground demonstrating just how difficult it is to get out of a wetsuit after being in the water. This is followed by the company’s founder speaking about the history of the product. The description accurately walks the viewer through how to use the product, but the tone fails to really capture much excitement associated not only with the fun activities one can engage in while in a wetsuit, but the opportunity to get on with things after one is out of one.
The Perks. Early adopters of the Off’n’Up can do so for an entry price of $50 (the prototypes will be shipping in July). Considering that the Off’n’Up may find daily use with some people, the price itself is manageable, if a bit high. For those who only wear a wetsuit on occasion, however, it’s difficult to justify making such a purchase. Other perks (guided adventures with the founder, for example) are offered at much higher prices, with a five-day Ireland adventure for 2 clocking in at just under $900.
The Potential. There’s really nothing out on the market that serves the same purpose as the Off’n’Up, but it’s a bit pricey for such a limited-use product. Even among those who wear wetsuits often enough to find a strong need for it would likely find it an awkward implement to bring along. A collapsible version, though, would be a more compelling option for separating a wetsuit — and some funds — from a prospective buyer.
One of the benefits of digital communications that we take for granted is the (optional) notification of new messages. Postifier brings what many have a love-hate relationship with to physical mailboxes via a Bluetooth-Arduino mashup. While there’s an element of “because we can” to the product, the creators appeal to the utility for those who have a hard time getting around having to go down to the driveway to pick up their mail. Another option would be to ask neighbors to pick up mail when one is on vacation. However, the Postifier uses Bluetooth, so notification is confined to a relatively short range for now. On theo other hand, the battery is expected to last around nine months. It’s not much to look at now, but should be available to backers in June 2014 for $35 AUD plus another $10 for shipping outside of Australia.