Tag: alarm

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Connected Objects Safety

RoboRanger serves as your personal safety device

Portable safety devices can come in really handy when there is an emergency. But many of them require being tethered to another device or Bluetooth connection to a smartphone, which a lot of consumers –- especially senior citizens – don’t often have.

RoboRanger is a water-resistant personal safety device that features a loud, 130-decibel alarm, around-the-clock monitoring, and friends/family notification. It also has a standalone connection to 911 and provides 24/7 coverage virtually anywhere in the world, its makers say. Plus, it connects directly to GSM and GPS without a smartphone or other device. It requires one simple motion to activate during an emergency situation: users just have to pull its pin and that will activate the alarm and transmit the user’s exact location to a professional 911 response team.

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Categories
Imaging Smart Home

Koova security camera does everything but chase intruders away

In the United Kingdom and many points beyond, cameras are everywhere. With smartphones, security cameras and the increasing presence of the Internet of Things, they’re being crammed into everywhere else at a fraction of the cost they previously were.

Cue Amaryllo International and their Koova, the device it’s claiming to be the world’s smallest auto-tracking camera. The company sees its low-cost Koova being used in home, garage, office and small business situations. The sleek looking cylindrically shaped device is Wi-Fi connected, boasting HD quality and 8GB of onboard memory.

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Connected Objects Kids/Babies Sleep

REMI tracks and trains tykes and toddlers through sleep, helps twitchy parents take a load off

For the first 10 years of a child’s life, making sure they receive adequate amounts of care and attention can be difficult. Often, parents are winging it, slowly learning from the advice given by others and the mistakes they made. Their lack of sleep makes it that much more difficult.

REMI is a Bluetooth-connected sleep alarm looking to kill two birds with one stone by being a device that exists as a sleep tracker for babies and as a sleep trainer for children. By tracking sounds at night, REMI’s sleep tracking capabilities create sets of information parents can use to make informed decisions about their general well-being. As a sleep trainer, it’s designed with a cute, customizable display that lets children know when it’s time to get up in the morning.

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Categories
Tech Accessories

Tye mobile security device protects your stuff, saves the day when they stray

There are many products on the market track a lost pet or stolen smartphone. There are also many devices on the market that can be used to lock up a bicycle or other object so that it can’t be easily stolen.

patent-claimedTye is a new three-in-one, patent-pending device that can do both of those things, and also serves as an alarm system for electronic devices in much the same way that a car alarm system is used for vehicles. The device’s hub gets attached to any device that its user wants to protect. The hub communicates constantly with a small remote that the user hangs onto. If somebody attempts to take the protected device, Tye will sound an alarm.

An app for smartphones and the Apple Watch alerts others that there’s been an attempt to steal a protected device along with the exact transgression spot . Tye can operate up to 90 feet from the device via Bluetooth or up to 400 feet away using ZigBee wireless technology. It is expected to cost about $59-$64 once its Kickstarter campaign ends and will ship in September. Its maker is hoping to raise $60,000 by May 19.

The nice thing about Tye is that it can be used to prevent valued property from straying and find it if it does. Its use of Zigbee helps extend its local range but a cellular option would make the offering even more powerful.

 

Categories
Podcasts

Backerjack Podcast #14: Breathing Sensors, Social Servers, and Heat-Seeking Bedroom Bots

In Episode 14 of the Backerjack Podcast, Steve and Ross check out some of the latest products seeking funds and preorders:

  • Neobase, a home server that lets you create your own private Facebook for sharing with your (small) circle of friends. Now all your base are belong to you!
  • Wakē, a focused light and speaker combo that mounts over your bed to wake you gently without disturbing those sharing the budoir
  • Prana, a wearable sensor that scores your breathing and posture and lets you practice via a video game

Many thanks to SnapPower for sponsoring this episode! Please support its campaign.

Download  the episode or listen below, subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and follow Backerjack on Twitter and Facebook. Also check out Steve’s great work on Apple World Today!

Categories
Connected Objects Sleep

Wakē shines a little light — and audio — to rouse without disturbing mattress mates

The smartphone has encroached upon the classic clock radio as the tool of choice for greeting the day, but both offer an escape from slumber via sounds delivered at an elevated decibel. That can mean a rude awakening for the person who shares a bed with the early riser.

Wakē swivels to project a light and parametric speaker (one that can focus a beam of sound) that work together to gently wake owners and their bedfellows individually. The product mounts above the bed on a wall. From there, a companion smartphone app communicates when and how the sleeping should be awoken with a combination of light and sound. Wakē can hone its spotlight and audio beam on bed occupants even if they are spooning. However, pre-empting concern about (unwanted) cameras in the bedroom, the product relies on heat seeking to identify which person should receive its stimuli. Developer Lucera Labs seeks $100,000 by May 30th. Backers can pick up a unit for $250 (or $125 per bed occupant).

Wake has more applications on the drawing board; a reading light is a natural next step. The product represents the most radical rethinking of the alarm clock in a long time. It’s unusual position in the bedroom and need to be charged every few months, though, diminish ts useful impact for couples. somewhat Still, it represents the most clever use of parametric speaker capabilities to date.

Categories
Connected Objects Health and Wellness Sleep

Slip into slumberland with the SLiiP connected pillow

A lifestyle filled with stress often prevents individuals from getting in a good night’s sleep. In turn, a lack of sleep can lead to all kinds of physical and mental problems, thereby creating a vicious cycle which makes it even more difficult for people to sleep comfortably the very next night.

One solution to this problem is PoleGame’s SLiiP, a product which combines a connected down and feather pillow with an airbag to facilitate a more comfortable sleeping experience. SLiip automatically inflates and deflates based on factors as varied as uncomfortable sleeping positions and even certain sounds, like snoring. The product is also able to track the quality of sleep over time with a companion iOS or Android app. What’s more,  the pillow comes packaged with an orb that generates delta waves which are beneficial to achieving a deep sleep. The product also features a Bluetooth speaker, alarm, phone charger, and lamp. Each SLiiP is $249 with an estimated delivery date of December 2015. PoleGame Inc. is looking for $100,000 in funding by April 24.

Sleep problems can be caused by a number of issues, but one of the more common and potentially serious ones is snoring. Even if other sleep-aids like the SnoreNoMore promise solutions to snoring, they can be intrusive. SLiiP is very hands off, subtle in what it does, and comfortable to boot.

Categories
Connected Objects Cycling

Noke smart U-lock protects your two-wheeler from a stealer

There have been no shortage of smart locks designed to protect the home. But many feel most at home on the road with two wheels hitting the road and a desire to protect what moves them there.

Just last fall, Fūz Designs introduced the Noke smart padlock that kept lockers closed to all but the right iPhone owner. Now the company has returned to Kickstarter with the Noke U-Lock. Evolving the electronics of the original into a shell that it calls “virtually indestructible,” the protective device  accommodates both bikes and motorcycles.

After pressing the unlock button on the device, the lock seeks out a smartphone with the right code in the companion app and disengages. Noke has also built functionality for lending a bike into the app and for revoking those lending privileges. Consumers can also track their bikes via GPS built into the product. Apple Watch compatibility is in the works. And bucking a trend, the company is even supporting Windows Phones in addition to iPhones and Android devices.

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Categories
Home Sensors/IoT

Ramos uses a Bluetooth beacon to coax your butt from the bed

Getting up in the morning for some is a delight and for others means terror. Getting up on the wrong side of the bed means a day full of disappointment. Sometimes the way we get up can determine the course of the day.

Ramos is an alarm clock that not only gets you out of bed, but does so the right way. The alarm consists of three parts, first the clock by the side of the bed, a Bluetooth sensor, and your smartphone. Upon waking up, the user must get out of bed and bring their smartphone close to the sensor. Distances can be customized, but most choose to put the sensor in the bathroom or kitchen next to the coffeepot. For heavy sleepers, Ramos requires a four digit code to really make them think.

The accompanying smartphone app allows for multiple alarms, snooze limits, multiple users, and more. A courtesy mode makes one initial beep, but then shuts up to consider letting others sleep. The user can also play their own music with or without a gradual loudness mode to make waking up a little more smooth. With a USB port, you can charge your smartphone so it can stay attached to the alarm and the alarm runs on battery when unplugged, so it can never be tricked.

Ramos has really thought of everything in terms of waking up. The movable sensor makes it easy to prepare for different kinds of days. Its various modes consider the comfort of bedfellows and family members. Best of all, it doesn’t wake you up with a greased pig-like chase around the room like some unconventional alarms do. For backers who want to get up in the morning without feeling like committing murders, try Ramos for a donation of $99 in either white or black for estimated delivery in May 2015. Ramos is hoping to raise $100,000 on Kickstarter.

Categories
Connected Objects Kids/Babies Lighting

BabySleep is a connected nighttime lamp for kids

Toddlers and small children are notorious for refusing to go to sleep. Even when they can barely keep their eyes open, they insist on staying up, unwilling to miss any action. Babysleep is a clock designed for these types of kids, teaching them when it’s time to go to sleep and wake up. Looking like a little wooden birdhouse, the product has a sun and moon on it. When the sun is lit, it tells the child that they should be getting up. When the moon is lit, it’s time to go to bed. Parents have several options in controlling Babysleep. They can either set times from the product itself, from a computer or even use an accompanying app. Times can be adjusted easily for nap time, traveling or sleepovers. Brightness of the lights as well as colors can also be customized.

The campaign included testimonials from parents claiming that Babysleep has become a fun nightly ritual for their child. It also goes into the detrimental effects of the often erratic sleep patters of terrible two-year-olds. Other children’s alarm clocks focus on different goals, such as the Onaroo Alarm Clock. This product urges kids to stay in bed longer so that their parents can sleep. Babysleep focuses more on the child’s well-being than the parent’s. Backers can donate £99 (~$160) for this Italian product. Babysleep is looking to raise £50,000 (~$80,600) on Kickstarter.