Tag: Bluetooth

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Connected Objects Cycling

YERKA transforms bikes into their own locks sans Transformers sound effects

It doesn’t matter how much precaution a cyclist takes when locking up their bike; just one slip-up can result in a missing ride. With millions of bikes stolen every single year, there are a multitude of options available for keeping bikes out of the hands of thieves. However, most of these solutions are heavy and ungainly to carry around.

The team behind YERKA is doing away with the need to use a standalone solution by making the bike itself its own lock. The collapsible YERKA frame works by securing the frame’s bottom halves with the bike’s seat on any pole or fence up to eight inches long. A user can also use an iOS or Android companion app to remotely lock and unlock YERKA via Bluetooth. Made from the same type of hardened steel found in Kryptonite locks , YERKA is incredibly hard to break. Even if a thief were to impossibly break through the hardened steel, the bike would remain safe as the locked position would prevent anyone from riding it anyhow. An included anti-theft nut protects the bike’s wheels as well. Interested backers can purchase just the frame for $199, or an entire bike outfitted with YERKA for $429. If successful, the $50,000 campaign with an April 18 end date is looking at an estimated ship date of October 2015.

YERKA is an innovative idea that sits in very good company. Products like Quick Caps or Skylock also offer novel solutions to the problem of bike security. Ultimately, the real question when it comes to bike safety is which solution a user prefers as opposed to a lack of options.

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Cell Phone Accessories Connected Objects Displays

headsUP outfits motorcycle helmets with HUD, no bank rolls necessary

The fascination most have with motorcycles has as much to do with culture as it does with the feeling of danger and the exhilaration that comes from riding. All the same, safety should always be part of the motorcycle riding equation.

One of the more dangerous actions a motorcycle rider can do is to check his or her speed. At 60 miles per hour, riders can cover 150 feet in the split second it takes to quickly look down and check the speedometer.

Inventor Tyler Collins is hoping to make checking motorcycle speed a safer endeavor with headsUP. headsUP, as the name implies, is a heads-up display that can be affixed to any motorcycle and display both speed and navigation information. As a result, riders can keep their eyes on the road while at the same time maintaining an increased level of awareness. The device’s Bluetooth connection allows the helmet to pull navigation data from both iOS and Android devices, transforming that information into a simple to read message on the HUD itself. Backers can purchase their very own headsUP unit for $200 if a campaign goal of $125,000 is met by April 2015. First shipments are expected to begin in January of 2016.

Offering simplicity while not having to shell out an exuberant amount of money makes headsUP an attractive option for any rider interested in this sort of technology. The headsUP succeeds in offering a bare-bones alternative to something like Skully’s AR-1, a far more feature rich, pricey take on the motorcycle helmet.

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Health and Wellness Wearables

Kanega Watch provides emergency connections for seniors on the go

Many traditional personal emergency response devices are limited in that they they traditionally keep seniors tethered to their homes. That’s an outmoded way in the era of powerful wearables.

Kanega Watch was designed to replace traditional emergency alert devices for seniors and doesn’t require a smartphone to operate. As an added plus, it’s more fashionable than many standard watches on the market. The company claims that focus groups have called Kanega a wearable version of OnStar for seniors because it provides discreet support for falls, medication reminders, and a guard against wandering, according to its Kickstarter campaign.

Kanega uses an easy speech interface rather than buttons and also features Bluetooth Smart technology and patent-pending quick-swap batteries that peel away from the watch for charging. The product costs $299 and will ship in February 2016. A separate charging cradle with two additional batteries is included. Replacement batteries are provided free with a  monitoring service that costs $35 to $85 a month depending on the service level chosen.

Kanega mostly relies on emergency notification but there have been other products that focus more on passive monitoring. Lively focuses on monitoring independent seniors in their homes although the company has come out with a wearable.

Categories
Fitness Wearables

Stryd makes strides in measuring workout intensity

Most wearable fitness devices do a good job of measuring heart rate, pace and several other metrics. But they typically fail to gauge an extremely important metric for runners: workout intensity.

patent-claimedStryd was designed to accurately measure running power and efficiency while also offering most of the typical features that other fitness wearables and smartwatches provide. Stryd is a small clip-on device that users can attach to a piece of clothing during a workout. The device tracks data and uses Bluetooth Smart technology to subsequently connect with a wide variety of devices, including sports watches, smartphones (Android and iOS), tablets, and even computers. Notably, the device uses patent-pending sensing technologies developed by Princeton engineers. Each unit costs $149 and will ship in September. Its maker set a Kickstarter goal of reaching $50,000 by April 12.

Stryd holds a lot of promise for fitness enthusiasts, but there are far too many players in the fitness wearables market, including Tracky, to declare Stryd a sure thing.

Categories
Input

Type on the go with ease with Qii’s full-sized, rollable, and extremely portable Bluetooth keyboard

The big problem with most smartphone and tablet keyboards is that they are too difficult to type on for very long. Ultimately, a Bluetooth keyboard is required for writing anything substantive in length. Unfortunately, though, many Bluetooth keyboards are poorly designed and not very portable.

Qii solves that dilemma with a clever solution. Qii is a full-sized QWERTY keyboard that can be rolled up and stored in a user’s pocket. The keyboard is versatile insofar as its compatible with Apple, Android, Blackberry, Windows and Palm mobile devices. The keyboard was designed using nanotechnology and organic electronics, according to its Indiegogo campaign video. It costs $99 and is scheduled to ship in October. Its maker is hoping to raise $890,000 by April 3.

Qii could be appealing to many consumers thanks to its portability and compatibility with multiple mobile device operating systems. Its rollaway design makes it a superior portable solution than other foldable keyboards such as the Flyshark or TextBlade. Still, it’s a bit hard to tell from the video how easy Qii will be on users’ fingers.

 

Categories
Connected Objects Food and Beverage

Neo Smart Jar puts a lid on foods, whips up recipes for whatever’s around

If the crowdfunding world has taught us anything, it’s that everything deserves Bluetooth. The Neo Smart Jar demonstrates how even an everyday object can be completely transformed with Bluetooth connectivity.

Pantries everywhere are filled with foods and ingredients whose quantity and freshness are easily and quickly forgotten. The Neo Smart Jar steps in to help by using Bluetooth to communicate pertinent food information to a companion iOS or Android app. The Neo Smart Jar not only keeps track of food quantity and nutrition in real time, but it can also sync that information with paired fitness devices. Additionally the Neo Smart Jar can send out freshness alerts and create consumption trends of foods and ingredients over time.

What’s more, Neo can even make cooking easier: the app suggests recipes based on what’s available, and adjusts both the quantities needed and portion size depending on the number of guests at the table. Lastly ,the jar’s companion app can dynamically update shopping lists, even going so far as to automatically place orders for required items via Amazon (additional partner stores are in the works).

Each jar charges wirelessly and can runs for several months off a single charge, thus making the Neo Smart Jar a truly modern update to the humble glass jar of yore. A single Neo goes for $54, two can be had for $99, and a set of six can be picked up for $299. The $50,000 campaign is looking to ship the connected piece of kitchenware by November 2015.

Given the sheer variety of available helpful crowdfunded products for the kitchen, including the Pantelligent, ChefBot and the CookStarta, it seems like the cooking process itself may now be the hardest part of the cooking equation. While other products may tack on Bluetooth as an afterthought, the Neo Smart Jar implements it intelligently, and it shows.

Categories
Lighting Smart Home

Want to add smarts to light switches without replacing? Switchmate has them covered

editors-choiceControlling home lighting via a smartphone app can come in handy. But all too often setting up such systems can be overly complicated.

Switchmate does away with all of that complexity. It consists of a white cover that easily snaps over a standard light switch using magnets. It gets paired via Bluetooth with an Android or iOS app and the user can then easily take control of the switch via their smartphone. In a nice touch, the app can control multiple Switchmates. Notably, users can see the status of their lights within a Bluetooth range of about 150 feet. Each Switchmate will cost $60 and is scheduled to begin shipping in December. Its maker set an Indiegogo campaign goal of raising $50,000 by April 1.

Switchmate holds a great deal of promise if truly is compatible with any standard light switch and if the setup process is as easy as the campaign advertises. The device takes the ease of Emberlight one step further insofar as it attaches to a light switch instead of a light fixture itself, thereby eliminating the need to have a ladder or really tall person nearby.

Categories
Connected Objects Wallets

Self-charging Woolet prevents you from losing your wallet

While misplacing a wallet at home is a major inconvenience, losing a wallet in a public place can be a major cause for alarm, especially if it houses credit cards and lots of cash.

The Bluetooth-enabled Woolet is a smart wallet which aims to prevent this type of problem. Woolet notifies its owner when a wallet is misplaced or lost. Woolet is currently Android and iOS compatible, and its makers have plans to perhaps support Windows Phone devices later on down the line.

When in use, Woolet is able to show users where their wallet is within 1.3 feet. Like the similarly designed Where’s Wallet, Woolet can also notify users when they’re separated from their wallet beyond a pre-specified distance. Woolet costs $99 and is slated to ship in May provided its goal of $15,000 can be met by April 2.

Despite an increasingly crowded market for similar products, Woolet holds a lot of promise. One feature that gives it an edge over rival products is that it’s self-charging, which is to say that no battery replacement is needed. Woolet charges itself through a process called electricity harvesting, meaning that when the beacon senses movement, kinetic energy is activated, subsequently building an electrical charge. Notably, its maker is also testing recharging by movement and body heat. Woolet’s makers plan to update Kickstarter backers once a final implementation method is chosen.

Categories
Smart Home

Blueguard smart lock and doorbell lets you welcome guests from across the ocean

Doorbells just aren’t what they used to be. A simple ring to announce a visitor only works when someone is home to actually answer the door. Otherwise, a doorbell is effectively useless.

The Blueguard smart lock and video doorbell system modernizes this part of the home which has been long overdue for an update.

The Blueguard system takes advantage of the prevalence of wireless networks everywhere, offering a deadbolt with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity. This, along with an embedded color camera, allows homeowners, from anywhere in the world, to respond to someone at the door through their smartphone or via a web app. If no one’s home, an alert mode can be set whereby a motion sensor and camera will detect and record whoever is at the door, sending it straight back to the homeowner’s smartphone or computer.

All of this technology also allows for a multitude of entry options. Besides a standard key, Blueguard allows for coded entry or, even more interestingly, proximity based, one-touch entry to the home so long as the included Bluetooth fob is in the vicinity of the lock. A standard Blueguard package goes for $199, and includes two keys, two fobs, four electronic keys, four AA batteries, and the Blueguard deadbolt and interior. The $6,000 campaign is looking to ship the product in August 2015.

Although Blueguard claims to be the world’s first smart lock and doorbell, it most certainly isn’t. Other products like the i-Bell, Chui, and airBell also incorporate connected cameras, though Blueguard is the only product which includes a relationship with the lock itself.

Categories
Connected Objects Food and Beverage

Proscan scans food for nutritional content

It’s always best for everybody to know exactly what’s in the food they’re eating -– especially if they’re on a diet or have a serious allergy to foods such as peanuts. Unfortunately, a list of ingredients isn’t always available.

Proscan is a water resistant device that quickly scans any food and displays a list of the calories, energy, carbohydrates, protein, cholesterol and dietary fiber that it contains. The device works by using a load sensor, optical sensor (spectrometer), other advanced sensors and complex algorithms to analyze food and then display its nutritional content on the device’s touch-sensitive display screen or on a Bluetooth-connected iPhone, Apple Watch, Android device, or Windows Phone. In speaker mode, all scan results are read aloud via Proscan’s speakers.

Provided that a $50,000 goal is reached by April 14, Proscan will ship in December in a choice of a Beam (rectangular) model or a round version. The entry price is about $349 for a regular model. Proscan Mini versions will cost about $238, while customized versions with color options and engraved wording will cost about $419. The Indiegogo campaign is slated to end on April 14.

There have been other food scanner campaigns in recent memory. The SCiO is one product that comes to mind, although that product was designed to analyze surrounding environments as well. If Proscan works as easily and seamlessly as it appears to in its Indiegogo campaign video, the product may very well hold some promise. Still, a pocket device like SCiO seems much more practical, especially when dining at a restaurant or traveling, which would seem to be when users would want it most.