Tag: app

Categories
Connected Objects

Luna smart bed cover covers all the bases to provide good night’s sleep

Objects all around keep getting smarter and smarter. But the bed, one of the most important things that people use every day and a key part of our health, isn’t getting any smarter.

The San Francisco-based makers of the Luna smart mattress cover are out to change that. Luna is able to manage the user’s bed temperature and tracks sleep habits using multiple hidden sensors, including an ambient light sensor and temperature humidity sensor. The thin cover can also be integrated with the user’s other smart home devices to turn off lights, lock doors, change the thermostat, or make sure coffee is brewed when the user needs it each morning. Luna’s dual zone technology provides the option for users and their partners to select different temperatures for each side of the bed.

Luna works with any kind of mattress, its maker claims. Backers who pledge $199 for a queen or full size cover, $219 for a king size cover, or $229 for a California king size cover when it ships in August. The $100,000 Indiegogo goal has been set to pay for product validation testing and tooling to manufacture enclosures.

The product holds great promise, going a few steps further than the ThinkPillow smart pillow and Beddit sleep and wellness tracker that are both more reliant on their apps than Luna is. An iPhone or Android smartphone is required only the first time the user installs Luna. Consumers who are sleep-challenged will find it especially valuable.

Categories
Food and Beverage Technology

SalivaScanner scans salads, sandwiches, soup for spit

If an order placed at a restaurant isn’t to one’s liking, there’s always the recourse of complaining or sending it back. Letting the food out of sight, however, leaves it open for all kinds of potential revenge if one has been something less than a gracious guest.

Tpatent-claimedhe SalivaScanner from San Diego-based Klein Electronics is a handheld device that scans food and can detect certain enzymes that are only found in human saliva. The company’s CEO notes that detecting saliva in one’s food has become more important than ever because Ebola can be transmitted through the exchange of bodily fluids. The scanner’s LCD will indicate if there is saliva in food and, if so, how much. An accompanying Android and iOS app will display more details and track data including the location of the incident and potentially report it to social media sites. No pricing for the device is listed at the Kickstarter campaign and none of the three rewards for pledges that are listed include the device itself. But Klein says the target price is $199. He is looking to raise $85,000 in order to finish developing the product.

The device might have some appeal as a novelty. But using the Ebola outbreak to help sell the device borders on fear mongering. And consumers who are so paranoid that they need to scan their food for saliva would likely be better off not eating out at all, or at least consider complaining to restaurant staff in a more civil way.

Categories
Aquatics

Hydropacer swim trainer guides swimmers, lights up laps

editors-choiceSwimming is a great way to stay in shape. Not only is it challenging and beneficial, but it’s a low-impact way to get some much-needed cardio.

Swimming workouts can be hard to keep track of, which is why the Hydropacer was developed. Hydropacer is a smart swim trainer that works with an accompanying smartphone app. Simply hook the smartphone up to the device and then set Hydropacer up along the side of the pool. It has a string of LED lights that go into the pool and rest along the bottom of the lane. The lights indicate how many laps must be done. With a rechargeable battery, this product can be used for a long time. It’s also portable at about the size of a tissue box so it can be brought to public pools.

In order to use, the swimmer selects which workout they want from a variety of choices and hits play. They have the option to pause, slow down or speed up any workout they choose. The app’s workout library is vast, spanning from Iron Man training sessions to speed conditioning. Hydropacer’s creators have compiled many routines from lots of different swimming professionals.

This product is certainly a cool concept, great for swimmers who need some help with their training. However, it isn’t executed that well. There isn’t any indication of how deep the pool can or cannot be in order for the lights to reach to the bottom and the design is lacking in style. Currently, it can only be used in 25 yard long pools. Still, swimmers can enjoy a wide variety of workouts which is a huge plus. For their own, backers can donate $360 for estimate delivery in May 2015. Hydropacer is hoping to raise $35,000 on Kickstarter.

Categories
Connected Objects

AiFi speakers promise great sound, Lego-like stacking capabilities

It takes a lot to come up with an original concept in speaker systems anymore. The last major new speaker category to become a hit was the sound bar, which achieved popularity thanks to the growth of flat-panel TVs. The makers of aiFi (Artificial Intelligence Fidelity), however, seem to have come up with a somewhat unique twist.

AiFi is being positioned as the Lego of sound systems because the small, modular speakers can be stacked one on top of the other and used in conjunction with any audio source. Although one unit is enough to fill a room with sound, stacking them makes the sound louder and serves to enhance the quality of the sound in general. The speakers can be stacked together and built in any configuration the user wants. On the top of each speaker are two grooves that make the rubber feet on the bottom fit securely. Speakers placed next to each other connect magnetically.

A smartphone app for the speaker system turns the user’s mobile device into a remote control. AiFi’s Bluetooth solution is compatible with iOS, OS X, Android and Windows. When stacked, the aiFi speakers will inform the app about their configuration. The speakers use top-of-the-line ADC converters and a 192kHz/24bit digital sound processor. The standard finish of the speaker is brushed aluminum and backers can get one, along with various accessories and other extras, for $170 with an estimated delivery date of April 2015. AiFi is looking to raise $80,000 on Indiegogo.

There have been stackable speakers before, but they have tended to be low-end portable models designed to be used exclusively with mobile devices. The aiFi, however, is being targeted for use with any two-channel sources, especially flat-panel TVs. If the sound quality of aiFi is as strong as its maker claims, the product is enormously promising.

Categories
Connected Objects

Tog controls Bluetooth devices, even when they get lost

It would be nice to be able to control multiple devices all from one hub. Especially when such a device has disappeared, maybe behind the pillows of a couch somewhere.

Tog is the latest Bluetooth-enabled button that can be used to remotely control Bluetooth LE devices including smartphones, laptops and lights. It can activate Siri or take a picture on a smartphone with no app required. The user can also configure it to control or mute music. The Tog design is open source, so it can be modified to do whatever fits the user. TogMods are magnetically attached modules that extend the functionality of Tog. An accompanying app is required to perform extra functions including locating the user’s smartphone when lost.

Backers who pledge $20 will get one Tog and TogMod in May as part of an early bird Kickstarter special. Tog is hoping to raise $50,000 by early February.

The product’s early bird pricing is cheap enough to attract some interest. However, just like with similar products, including Qblinks, there doesn’t seem to be enough of a reason for most consumers to spring for yet an extra smart device when they already have their smartphones so close at hand much of the time. However, if the phone gets lost, one may want to have Tog around as a backup.

Categories
Sensors/IoT

FishBit monitors the aquarium while you’re away, makes sure water is safe

Aquariums can be difficult enough to maintain while home. They become even more difficult to take care of when the owner is traveling.

That’s why San Francisco company Current Labs developed FishBit, an aquarium monitoring system that includes an iOS and Android app, a monitor and a controller. There are rival products on the market, such as the Digital Aquatics Lifeguard Aquarium Monitor, but such products can be harder to set up. In addition, they supply similar data, but don’t help users understand what the information means.

The FishBit BETA monitor gets placed inside the aquarium and measures pH, salinity and temperature. It also monitors the controller for other aquarium equipment, including lighting and pumps, and the FishBit app that’s accessible via a smartphone or Web browser. Backers pledging at least $299 have been promised delivery of the system in June. Current Labs is looking to raise $5,000 on Kickstarter

FishBit is a promising product that is bound to appeal to many aquarium owners, but there are a few question marks. For instance, it’s not clear how many of the niche base of consumers this is aimed at will be willing to pay. Still, those who love their fish can count on FishBit for aquarium help.

Categories
Imaging

CamsFormer triggering system offers DSLRs more options, sensors, settings, everything

A DSLR in the hands of someone who knows what they’re doing is a powerful tool that produces high quality shots. But no matter how talented a photographer is, there are just some things that are either incredibly difficult or just plain impossible to capture, such as high-speed events. A photographer’s creative impulses can be tempered by these drawbacks.

The CamsFormer triggering system addresses these weaknesses by attaching to a DSLR’s USB and cable release port and providing a combination camera remote, high-speed trigger, and motorized tilt and zoom. All this alongside CamsFormer’s variety of sensors allows photographers to set sound, light, or infra-red triggers that sets off up to two cameras and flashes from anywhere between microseconds to 32 seconds. A companion iOS app allows for wireless camera control, photo curation and upload. It even enables things like Infinity Mode where a camera can shoot infinitely despite whatever memory limitations it might have. This product offers options available anywhere since it generates its own Wi-Fi network as well.

For the CamsFormer, this is just the tip of the iceberg. It can even add video capability to cameras that don’t have it. The $189 early bird price is a steal, but the eventual retail price of $249 isn’t bad considering everything this product does. The $7,000 campaign is looking to ship the product by July 2015.

The CamsFormer is extremely impressive in that radically expands any camera’s capabilities, adding a dizzying array of customizable settings any amateur or serious photographer would love. The product is another in a long line in creative imaging solutions like the Panlight and MaxStone that do so much to make serious photography more approachable, fun, and wallet-friendly.

Categories
Sensors/IoT

GUARDOOR security system easy to set up, keeps intruders at bay

The main issue preventing many consumers from buying a home security system is the cost. Some consumers are also reluctant to set up a system because it’s too complicated to do it themselves.

GUARDOOR from San Francisco-based company, KIKTEC, offers a simple and relatively inexpensive way to keep home and office doors and windows secure, and it’s simple to set up. Each GUARDOOR is a small, triangular-shaped sensor that the user just has to stick to the corner of a door or window.

When the device senses movement, an instant alert is sent to the user’s Android or iOS mobile device. Backers who provide $59 in financing to the device’s Indiegogo campaign will get one GUARDOOR in April as part of an early bird special. That’s $20 less than its planned retail price and one month earlier than those who provide $79 in backing. KIKTEC is hoping to raise $10,000 to help with the cost of further development, manufacturing and production of the first prototype.

GUARDOOR is similar to Korner, another promising security device featuring small triangular tags that stick to the corner of a door or window. But GUARDOOR does away with the Fob device that is used with the Korner devices and must be plugged into a router. GUARDOOR, however, costs more money if the user is looking to use it with more than one door or window. A Korner starter pack including three tags for three doors or windows costs only $99.

Categories
Sports Wearables

You got game with Hoop Tracker wearable training system

As key as making consistent shots are in basketball, for most players it isn’t the easiest thing to practice. Sure, players can shoot around from all over the court and do so for hours, but that gets old really quickly. And even if someone has the motivation to put the practice in, there’s no way to really track sessions.

Hoop Tracker combines the training regimen for basketball players with technology to provide in-depth statistics like shooting percentages and locations, for example. A shot detector magnetically mounted to the inside rim of a basketball hoop works alongside a downloadable app for Pebble, Android Wear, Apple Watch, and popular smartphones. All of these stats can be uploaded for review to track strengths and weaknesses over time, or to be shared on social media.

To keep motivation up, training programs and games like Score 100 and Three Point contest have been incorporated, and an open API will ensure a steady stream of new ones. A coach mode allows the simultaneous tracking of up to 15 players. Basketball players are getting a lot of love with training products like this and the Shoot Natural Glove, so in combination they should all be a positive influence on their game. A donation of $50,000 gets Hoop Tracker out of the door and onto the court for a $39 early bird backing.

Categories
Technology

YoBox remembers what’s in moving boxes, stores data digitally

The stresses of moving are endless. Putting everything in boxes can be tedious and finding them again is a nightmare. People label their boxes, but there always seems to be minutiae that gets lost in the move.

The YoBox personal storage management system was designed around an Android and iOS app that works in conjunction with multi-colored YoBox sticker labels that are NFC and QR enabled. The user just has to take photos of all the items being put in a box or list the items in the box using the app, seal the box with a unique YoBox sticker label, scan the label using the app, name the box via the app, and confirm it. Once registered, the YoBox info will be saved onto a secure cloud server and stored there.

For a $20 pledge, backers will get a set of 10 labels that each contain unique NFC and QR codes, allowing them to manage the storage of 10 boxes starting in April. The system’s Boston developer is looking to raise $20,000 on Kickstarter.

The storage management system seems cleverly designed. One downside is that the YoBox system may work better for Android device users than those with iPhones, which don’t provide NFC in reader mode. The QR code will still work on iPhones, but unlike NFC and other radio-frequency identification (RFID) technologies, QR codes requires line of sight, so the QR code must be legible to the camera. QR codes can also be damaged by environmental elements including extended sun or water exposure. Still, the idea is a clever way to match the convenience of digital with the necessity of keeping track of YoBox remembers what’s in moving boxes, stores data digitallyphysical items.